Armenian Burial Ground

The space of Taksim Square’s usage begins in a time of an assignation attempt during the 16^th century on Suleiman the Magnificent. A chef reported an attempt on the sultan’s life and was granted a space in the city of Istanbul for Armenians to be buried. The space would remain a graveyard for the many Armenians that dies throughout the centuries up until construction projects in the 20^th century changes the visual landscape and usage of the site.

The site’s relevance increased in significance during the Armenian Genocide in which 1.5 million of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were killed in the early 20^th century. The country of Turkey refused to acknowledge the murders as a genocide and instead proceeded with plans to utilize the space that would be known as Taksim Square as a reservoir site and then a social gathering space. In a messy political conflict concerning the genocide, the government’s silence on the event seems to parallel its decision to do away with the site as a burial ground in favor of their own agenda; although, some tombstones have been excavated in recent digging efforts reminding the public of the events that transpired centuries ago.

The struggle for acknowledgement of the genocide in addition to the government’s action of overturning the usage of location for water supply needs and eventually military barracks indicated that the overall political agenda of the city’s government fundamentally opposes the values of Western nations in addition to the large number of Istanbul’s residents that want a fundamental shift in how Turkey perceives the actions of the Armenian Genocide. Gezi Park then acts as a memory of what the cultural pathos and essence served the citizens – a value of inclusion and transparency for the actions of the nation. 

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-armenian-past-of-taksim-square