Çemberlitas as a Leiux de Memorie

The timeline of Cemberlitas Hamam traces the progression of the site as an entity but also as a cultural phenomena of memory. The concept of a leiux de memorie is neither material nor vaporous, rigid nor entirely loose, belonging to everyone nor no one. It is a result of the push and pull of historical memory, a concept that continually evolves as society changes over time. What defines a site as such is its material existence, coupled with an imaginative aura that seeks to embody what the site means to society at a particular moment. Cemberlitas haram, a practical manifestation and prism in which to examine Istanbul’s own self identity, serves as a perfect example. While the site has been and still is a place for cleansing and bathing, the position it has played in societal memory has fluctuated as much as Istanbul development itself. The strong inflexible walls of the bathhouse have witnessed a deeply religious society seeking its use for ritual and social reasons, as well as a society that has placed it as a sub-par artifact from the past. It has witnessed Istanbul’s struggle with defining itself internationally, as well as defining what it means to be Turkish with the democratization of its government. It has more recently seen an unusual phenomena of popular resurgence as the West has deemed it a memory worth keeping. Moreover, the site has enhanced such perceptions, as it is a place to congregate and discuss, while serving a highly practical purpose. Cemberlitas hamam has proven to be truly mystical and magical, not simply because the West has recently deemed it so, but because it has successfully embodied Istanbullian shifting memory for over 500 years.