Author: Michaela Harrington

By Dani Steinberg

On one of the first days I was in Istanbul, I was exploring the neighborhood around our accommodations and I happened to pass a really neat book store. There were two small tables on the outside of the bookstore and when I peered through the windows, I saw the shelves were lined with feminist novels and art books in many different of languages. Since my project centers around art books and literature in Istanbul, I became very intrigued.  

After this first encounter, I knew I would have to come back to learn more about this interesting institution. This bookstore, Frankestayn Kitabevi, as I would later learn, was opened by Asye Tumerkan in 2022 when she realized there was no place in Istanbul that carried novels centered around feminism and queerness. As one of the only bookstores in Turkey, and definitely Istanbul, that centers around selling books related to feminist and queer literature, Frankestayn connects writers and readers with books they might not have otherwise encountered. Asye told me during our interview that one of the most important parts of opening this bookstore was that it was a place not only for people to be exposed to new and radical forms of literature, but that the bookstore could host events by and for the queer community of Istanbul. 

In comparison to the rest of Turkey, Istanbul is a relatively safe place to be queer and feminist, however, there exist very few places that allow for queerness and community to be built around literature in such a public and open way. Through poetry readings, open mic nights, book clubs, and other events, Frankestayn Kitabevi helps the queer community of Istanbul have a place they can meet gather and learn together. It is also one of the only places in Istanbul where one can buy small-print run artist books by various local independent publishers and artists.  

Being able to interview Asye and learn more about her experiences and life within the publishing realm helped me learn more about art, literature, publishing, and community in Istanbul in a way that was very nuanced. 

By Yara Hamdan

We began our day at Sultanahmet with a classic Turkish breakfast, savoring the flavors of simit, kaymak, and olives among the area’s historic beauty. We continued our adventure in Karaköy with a meze feast, where I had the opportunity to get to know my other Tufts colleagues better. We traveled to Kadıköy by ferry over the Bosphorus, where we enjoyed delicious street cuisine and sweet pastries while taking in the lively environment. The day ended with a stunning view from Terasse Nuit, with the city’s lights glimmering below, perfectly capturing the essence of friendship, food discovery, and Istanbul’s ageless charm.

It was helpful to meet the vice president of the DiSK labor union in Istanbul, as it highlighted the important role that women play in Turkey’s workforce. I learned more about the difficulties and advancements in the cause of women’s rights and equality in the workplace from our conversation. It was interesting to learn about the programmes run by DiSK to support women’s involvement in a variety of industries and to empower them; these efforts underscore the continuous efforts to make Turkey’s workplaces equitable and inclusive. He also gave me internal reports made for women’s day this year with helpful information for my research project.

Through interviewing a female American sociology professor at Özyeğin University, I learned important information about women’s roles and obstacles in the Turkish workforce. She shed light on the complex issues surrounding gender equality, discrimination, and opportunities for women in a variety of areas through her knowledge and experiences. My understanding of the systemic obstacles and struggles many women face, despite advancements in some areas, has increased as a result of learning about the socioeconomic and cultural influences on women’s participation in the labor. Her viewpoint emphasized the continued significance of advocacy, education, and policy reforms to establish more equal and encouraging work settings for women in Turkey.

By: Martynas Ramanauskas

After landing in Istanbul, we found ourselves in the middle of Galata – a lively, central neighborhood of this massive city. Having had enough time to explore and get a feel for Europe’s largest city, I started researching Turkey’s policies towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how this compares to the locals’ attitudes, and how the war as a whole has affected Turkey.  

Residing in one of Istanbul’s more international neighborhoods, I couldn’t help but notice the plethora of languages being spoken by passers-by in the streets – the most common of which is Russian. Due to travel restrictions imposed by the EU, more Russian tourists than ever before have set their sights on Turkey, resulting in a huge surge of visitors. But not all of the Russian speakers I’ve overheard are here temporarily. There were tens of thousands who voted in the Russian presidential election at the Russian embassy.   

Anecdotally, speaking to a Russian expat working in a restaurant I visited, I learned that, to the best of her knowledge, most of the Russians in Turkey are representatives of the numerous ethnic minorities within the world’s largest country. These people, while Russian citizens, predominantly live outside of the largest cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, and are said to be receiving draft orders at a much higher rate than the inhabitants of Russia’s richest metropolises. They have to move to Turkey with their families to avoid being sent to the front lines. Because the Russians who have moved to Turkey come from extremely diverse backgrounds – their unifying quality is their citizenship, which they embrace while living abroad to find community, even though it differentiates them in their homeland.  

By Soliman Aboutaam

Although I am focusing on Palestinian solidarity in Turkey, it seems that nationalism and Palestinian solidarity are intertwined as two different extensions of a very politically charged city.  

After only two days, I have photographed over 20 different signs and murals that support the Palestinian cause, from the more typical “Free Palestine” posters to pictures of ragged, displaced Gazan children to “Terrorist Israel.” However, between these posters I found hundreds of bright, red Turkish flags and flyers for the upcoming district elections, with zoomed in faces of the candidates. 

The reasons for this physical juxtaposition became more evident after interviewing a number of members of the ultra-nationalist, anti-immigrant “Zafer Partisi” group. When I asked a member about one of their stances on Palestinian solidarity in Turkey, they said that they support the Palestinian people and their fight for freedom, but that letting one million Palestinian refugees into the country, as President Erdogan has proposed, would be a threat to the identity of the Turkish people. 

Similarly, letting Syrians in would also not be ok because “we don’t have enough money to support them…we don’t have enough food and infrastructure.” Another member compared the efforts of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who they vehemently disapproved of, and called “traitors” with no benefits to their cause, to the actions of Hamas. Yet, they called Hamas freedom fighters and said that they would have fought for them too if born in the same circumstances. Ironically, both groups state the same mission of creating a state for their stateless people.  

It seems that for some in Turkey, Turkish nationalism and considerations of Turkish foreign and domestic policy, outweigh the practicalities of Palestinian refugees, if not the sentiments.