Defining the Impacts of Historical Development Activities on Urban Heritage of İskenderun (Alexandretta)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15320%20/ICONARP.2023.233

Keywords:

Eastern Mediterranean, İskenderun, urban development, urban heritage

Abstract

İskenderun, also known as Alexandretta in antiquity, has long been a strategically significant port city in the Eastern Mediterranean thanks to its natural harbour. Due to its advantageous location, the settlement began to rapidly urbanize after the mid-19th century as a result of the impacts of Ottoman and later the French Mandate period development activities. This article focuses on defining the influences of historical development activities on the urban heritage of İskenderun by understanding and evaluating various efforts that lie behind the formation of the city as an important trade centre and port city connecting the Middle East, Asia Minor, and Europe. By doing so, the formation, development and transformation of the settlement are chronologically deciphered regarding its historical turning points: the mid-19th century Ottoman period, the beginning of the French Mandate period (1919), and the joining of İskenderun to the Republic of Türkiye (1939). Accordingly, the characteristics of the urban form, the ways these characteristics were transformed, and the problems and strategies encountered within different periods are decoded. This decoding employed a combined methodology, including historical interpretation and case study research methods. The results of the study reveal that İskenderun has experienced different solutions for problems of infrastructure within the different periods, as a reflection of different political understandings and public and social needs among those periods.

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Author Biographies

Canan Nalça Kıssaboylu, İskenderun Technical University

Canan NALÇA KISSABOYLU; Received her bachelor’s degree in architecture at Dokuz Eylül University and her M.Sc. in the Department of Architectural Restoration at İzmir Institute of Technology. She is a Ph.D. candidate at Yıldız Technical University. Currently working as a research assistant at the Department of Architecture at İskenderun Technical University. 

Fatma Nurşen Kul, Izmir Institute of Technology

F. Nurşen KUL; Received her bachelor’s from Karadeniz Technical University (1998) and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Middle East Technical University (2003, 2010). Currently works at the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at İzmir Institute of Technology. Research interests include heritage conservation, traditional dwellings, and space-culture relations.

Mert Nezih Rifaioğlu, İskenderun Technical University

Mert Nezih RİFAİOĞLU; Received his Ph.D. degree at Middle East Technical University, Department of Architecture, Graduate Program in Restoration. His main academic and professional interest areas are conservation of   cultural heritage, urban morphology, management, planning and interpretation of heritage sites, architectural design in historic environments, historical urban form studies especially on Antakya, İskenderun and their near surroundings. He has been involved in professional and academic works on interpretation and presentation of cultural heritage sites at both national and international levels.  He has completed his ICCROM (Rome-Italy) post-doctoral fellowship, during which he undertook research on “Heritage Interpretation Strategies in Multi-Layered Cultural Heritage Sites" between November 2021 and September 2022.  He is member of ICOMOS Turkey National Committee and selected expert member of CIVVIH-ICOMOS (Historic Cities, Towns and Villages) and ICIP-ICOMOS (Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites) international scientific committees. 

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Published

27-06-2023

How to Cite

Nalça Kıssaboylu, C., Kul, F. N., & Rifaioğlu, M. N. (2023). Defining the Impacts of Historical Development Activities on Urban Heritage of İskenderun (Alexandretta). ICONARP International Journal of Architecture and Planning, 11(1), 66–87. https://doi.org/10.15320 /ICONARP.2023.233

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2023)

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