An Essay on Reading the Change of Cultural Heritage Components Through Semantic Literature: Historical Mesires in Istanbul

Abstract

Since their first settlement historical cities have been changing due to both natural and social conditions. These changes also have reflections on cities' physical structures where they could be entirely traced. There are plenty conserved, changed and lost physical components in the old Ottoman capital Istanbul in time. It is known that several spatial elements, such as the residential buildings, public buildings, were either collapsed or lost. Mesires are also within these lost elements which represent information on Istanbul's recreation culture and green areas in the Ottoman Era. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the change of mesire areas and recreation culture of Ottoman culture. Ottoman period, changes in Mesires are exemplified relating to some significant milestones and classified. In methodological terms, changes in Mesires are read within a semiological perspective considering denotative and connotative changes. Consequently, it is emphasized that Mesire culture and areas, which are inherited from Ottomans to today's Istanbul society, have changed and/or lost. ABSTRACT ÖZETIntroduction Cities are settlements that are transformed by natural and manmade causes in which physical space is created on a daily basis. Throughout the process of reproducing space (tangible and intangible) elements of cultural heritage, which are proof of former periods, can be preserved in some cases and in some aspects, while not in others. This is mainly due to the changing demands of the past and present. One of the problems associated with the failure to preserve cultural heritage is the creation of voids in collective memory.The framework of efforts aimed at preserving cultural heritage is trying to be defined with legal and administrative legislation that also includes the discipline of planning, while various sanctions are employed to succeed in preservation itself. However, in some cases, elements of cultural heritage cannot be preserved regardless of such efforts. The aim of this study is to attempt at interpret the problematique of the failure to preserve elements of cultural heritage based on scientific literature. This study will be executed through mesire (recreational areas), which are elements of cultural heritage in the physical space, inherited from the Ottomans. This is a topic that has rarely been studied in Turkey. Mesires (recreational areas) often contain man-made elements like pavilions (summer palaces), courts, tombs, namazgahs (outdoor altars), bridges and stables. This study focuses on the example of Istanbul to incorporate periods of intense social and cultural change like Westernisation and the Republican Era. A process analysis has been performed with the help of the conceptualisations of primary function and secondary function that is mentioned in semiology literature in order to explain changes taking place in the mesires (recreational areas) of Istanbul on the basis of examined examples. Conceptual FrameworkCulture has more than one definition. As a result of the meanings ascribed to it...