Skip main navigation

Case study: Istanbul in Turkey

As a former imperial capital, Istanbul comprises numerous layers of historical heritage.

Watch this video, where we discuss the interactions between urban transformation and heritagization in Istanbul.

Istanbul is, on the one hand, a millenary imperial city that contains the layers of numerous civilizations, from the Greek colony Byzantium to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, eventually conquered by the Ottomans in 1453. On the other hand, Istanbul is now a global metropolis that has undergone massive expansion and transformations, with a population that rose from one million inhabitants at the midpoint of the 20th century to 14 million today.

In this context, the dynamics of urban change and the construction of the city’s cultural heritage are closely intertwined.

Share your thoughts: Does urban development appear as an asset or as a threat to the preservation of heritage?

This article is from the free online

Cultural Heritage and the City

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now