The Reconstruction of Izmir and the Development of the Turkish Nation-State.

Date Presented:

February 7

Abstract:

My thesis focuses on the reconstruction of the city of Izmir, Turkey after the Great Fire of Smyrna of 1922; focusing on the relationship between rebuilding the city and the establishment of national identity within the new Turkish nation-state. In particular, I focus on the development of the Izmir International Fair and the urban fairgrounds on which the event was held—the Kültürpark. I argue that while the old Izmir was comprised of a multicultural fabric that arose over time—forged by its communities of Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Levantines—the fire created a chance for the new Republic to insert its presence into a city that for so many years lived without direct state interference. Building the Kültürpark and holding the Izmir International Fair served as a calling card to its citizens and to other nations that the Turkish Republic was ready to enter the modern world. However, the Izmir International Fair, while remaining a locus for the consolidation of identity, changed its role over time as the Turkish Republic became increasingly integrated into the economic and political order that began to take shape in Europe during the post-World War II period.