Kültür, turizm ve şehir: İstanbul'un yeni bir kentsel imaj arayışı

Abstract

We will attempt to describe how Istanbul tries to integrate the urban tourism world market. Fated to become a postindustrial city since the 80’s, Istanbul entered a process of renewal of its image and identity in order to become an attractive place on the market of cultural tourism, hence starting to challenge cities already well installed on the market of urban tourism. This global competition brings the cities to a process of organizing major cultural events, restoring cultural and historical heritage, and create new museums and cultural centers. ın this context, we will try to show how, through a major event such as Istanbul European Capital of culture 2010 and the phenomenons linked to the creation of new culture centers, Istanbul reinvents its image as a city of culture for the European and global tourism markets. We will thus try to show how Istanbul, usually seen as a mix of Asia and Europe, insisted on the modern and European sides of its identity, with the risk of loosing parts of herself in the process since the globalization of the marketing techniques and structures on the cultural tourism market tends to make the cities resemble each others and loose their originality.