Cultural Life and Post Offices in Izmir
As a communication infrastructure, post offices constitute the nervous system of cultural circulation, daily public meeting points and one of the spaces of representation of the modern state. Post offices are not only the points where letters or telegrams are sent, they can be considered as a threshold point in urbanization, where bureaucracy reaches the local, where different languages, identities and classes come together. While evaluating the urban culture of Izmir within its historical context, post offices and [...]
Fahri Sumer
“Painting is a silent art. It is made and presented, the painting tells the rest.” Life Fahri Sümer was born on March 3, 1942 in Bozüyük, Bilecik. Between 1949 and 1952, he studied at Eskişehir Yunus Emre Primary School until the third grade. From an early age, he had a highly observant and detail-oriented character; these characteristics would form the basis of his understanding of art in the years to come. In 1954 [...]
About Hafıza Izmir
Memory Izmir is conceptualized as a synthesis of the work carried out by the Izmir Development Agency for more than five years in the field of urban culture. In this context, Izmir Development Agency Culture Publications, which started publishing in 2019, is the first step on the road to Memory Izmir. Establishing a connection between foreign investors who have invested or intend to invest in Izmir and Izmir through books [...]
Dario Moreno Street and the Historic Elevator: A Cultural Bridge in Izmir's Memory
The historic Asansör is one of the first symbols of Izmir that comes to mind. It welcomes you with its splendor among the narrow streets and steep slopes of Karataş. This structure is not only an engineering marvel, but also a living archive of the sociological fabric of the city. For many Izmirites, especially Dario Moreno with whom it is associated, Asansör is the most prominent representation of the city's multi-layered, cultured and art-loving spirit. This [...]
Khans of Izmir
The inns that adorn the caravan routes of Anatolia have witnessed the stories carried by travelers, merchants and different cultures for centuries. Inns ensured the continuity of trade along caravan routes and provided safe accommodation for travelers. When the Ottoman Empire appeared on the stage of history, it continued this trade tradition by developing it, and the trade routes in the vast and fertile geography it dominated were lined with range inns, and the city centers were lined with [...]
Luigi Storari and the 1857 Izmir Guide
Luigi Storari is a very important but still not very prominent figure for Izmir in the 1850s. Storari was born into a wealthy and intellectual family in 1821 in Ferrara, Emilia Romagna, Italy. Storari studied engineering at La Sapienza University in Rome, during which time he not only learned the modern techniques of building bridges, waterways and [...]
Historical Adventure of Izmir Radio
In the 19th century, the scientific steps taken in the European continent were crowned with inventions that created great changes in the daily lives of societies. In the first half of the 20th century, radio, which became widespread and became a part of everyday life, created a radical change in the traditional understanding of communication. In a short time, it became an indispensable element of our social life, an important indicator of wealth, and a connection with the outside world through “agency news” listened to in coffeehouses [...].
Centennial Traces: One Hundred Years of Businesses in Kemeraltı
Izmir is one of the most ancient port cities of the Mediterranean, having been home to many civilizations from ancient times to the present day. Located at the intersection of trade, culture and art throughout history, this city draws attention not only with its geographical location but also with its multi-layered structure. Described by Homer as “the most beautiful city under the firmament”, praised by Herodotus as “the most beautiful sky and climate on earth”, [...]
Old Izmir Cinemas and Moviegoing Culture
Izmir has a long and vibrant history of cinema that begins almost with the invention of cinema. The first public film screenings took place at the Apollon Club in the Frenk neighborhood of Istanbul in 1896, just one year after the Lumière Brothers’ famous Grand Café screening in Paris and the same year as the arrival of cinema in Istanbul. At the time, one of the most important trading ports of Asia Minor and one of the most [...]
Creativity and Izmir
“The concept of ”art" was first used in French, English and Latin (artem) in the 13th century, and was defined in the sense of a human skill or talent. This term is derived from the Latin root ars or artem; etymologically, it is related to the Greek techne. Both roots refer to human actions based on mastery, method and the capacity for creative production (Tatarkiewicz, 1980). In the university curriculum of the Middle Ages, the seven [...]