Constructed Readings-Naz Kıyak

Fatih is a place that can be described as undefined. There are blind walls that look at the street, windows whose view is blocked by other buildings, unexpected historical fragments in neglected streets… The various types of textures and the display of different materials in one building, sometimes in a single façade, prevents the area to come together in a defined, understandable language.

Upon arriving and getting into the local neighbourhoods in Fatih, one can easily feel “otherized”. Glances of the local people will be on the outsider, silently asking “Who are you, and why are you here?” with their eyes. In the collage, Alexei Ivanovich, who is the main character from Dostoevsky’s “The Gambler”, is led by his obsessive behaviour and somehow finds himself in Fatih. Because his foreignness is obvious with his different looks and clothes, he immediately faces the weird glances that the locals give to him and realises harshly he is not a part of this area.

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An individual doesn’t only stay in one single place in one single time. Alexei looking out from a window in Samatya is also in Europe, İstanbul, Fatih. He came using transportations and brought different trails of different places with him. He isn’t only in the present time, he is stuck between past and present.

Samatya used to be a place with a strong historical texture that came from the Byzantine times. Turks, Rums, Armenians lived in harmony. After some urban renewal projects and the construction of the railroad project in Republic period, the area had a drastic change. Now, most of the Rums and Armenians left their homes. Instead, a new cultural setting is created by the vast amount of refugees. Political and historical events shaped Samatya, demography and architecture changed and created today’s hectic setting.

In Turkey, urban decisions are generally made by the upper authorities and accepted by public. With the recent developments of electronic participation, the world seems to be going into a direction where public opinion will have much more height in the decisions. This will also affect Turkey. Yet, will that be for the better or worse? Will the ideas of Alexei, blinded by his obsessions and not always known to make the best decisions, be best for the city or will they drag the city into a chaos?

Different people have different dreams even if they live in the same neighbourhood. In this collage, these different dreams are shown in different city blocks in Samatya.

An Armenian yearns for the past and misses his old friends. According to him, every house had a piano and library in the past. There were cultural activities everywhere which are now gone. He wants these values back.

A girl working in a store states that she doesn’t like Fatih. Says that it is too crowded. In the past, they could see the sea from their apartment but now, the buildings have increased a lot and they are higher than before. She dreams of being able to see the sea again. She also thinks that Fatih doesn’t have enough greenery and wants to be more entwined with nature, yearns to hear the birds’ chirping in an area with lots of trees.

A vendor in the bazaar loves Fatih, especially its multi-cultural environment and the abundance of public transportation. “You can be friends with anyone without checking their ID card for their nationality,” he says. He thinks that the area can be improved via better planning with more greenery.

A university student waiting at the bus stop thinks that the streets are too narrow for people to use. With wider streets more people can use them comfortably and safely. The abandoned buildings occupy a lot of space and smells and no one restores them. She wishes these buildings to be demolished and the land to be used in a better way. She also wants the old buildings to be rebuilt again because of the earthquake threat.

A balloon seller loves Fatih, but misses his hometown, Edirne. His dream is to participate in economy by opening his own textile shop. Even though he tried to do it once, because of the economic struggles caused by political events prevented his dreams to become true. He wishes to be given the opportunity again.

Some people believe that the only way to improve this place is to get rid of all of its current citizens.

The urban project of Sulukule prepared in 2006 was a disaster of the residents. People lost their neighbourhood and homes. Even though they tried to voice their ideas with performances, propagandas and platforms they have created, they were not listened to. Their wishes for the city could be having the opportunity to participate in the decisions that concern them.

What would the dreams of the characters from The Gambler be?

Polina, at the beginning of novel, is seen to care about the children a lot. She would want a city where children could play, socialize freely. She wouldn’t like the fact that Samatya doesn’t have many suitable places for children.

Mr. Astley would want to have a spacious place, with buildings having their own gardens. Current congested buildings would bother him and he would prefer discrete lives in a population.

Alexei, at the end of the novel, didn’t even care for the woman he loved. His only reason to live was gambling. If he was living in Fatih, he would be too occupied with his thoughts and obsession and wouldn’t realise even if the city became really chaotic and unbearable.