Two Engaged Utopias of Young Turkish Republic and Their Transformations; Ankara and Atatürk Experimental Farm

Abstract

Ankara is not only a spatial engineering project but also one of the comprehensive social engineering utopian projects of the early Turkish Republic. The experimental Atatürk Forest Farm (AOÇ) on the other hand, is an important urban spatial utopian project in Ankara that cannot be reduced to being a simple urban recreation area. It has been physically shaped together with Ankara from the beginning, then later became an important urban entity in the metropolitan macro-form. This article aims to deal with Ankara and AOÇ as interacting and active urban utopias. And to deal with the causes of spatial changes and changing conceptions of the public interest within Ankara metropolitan area by the help of readings of a private photo archive with oral history records about three main components in AOÇ site; Ateliers, Etimesgut (Ahi Mesud) Japanese Rose Oil Plants and “Steering Wheel Pub”. The conclusion aims to start a discussion of the projects’ public identity; whether the concept of AOÇ has transformed into a “urban area for the public—despite of the public?” and about the negative effects blocking and affecting the process of applying the Ankara Plan, which began just after 1938. The main resources are an unpublished private photo achieve, private oral history documentation and institutional publications from the AOÇ dated 1933, 1935 and 1953.

Keywords

• Early Turkish Republican period
• Utopia
• Construction of a capital
• Atatürk Forest Farm
• Ankara