Megaron (Oct 2016)
Reading the Republican modernization process in Mersin through an educational building: Mersin High School (Tevfik Sırrı Gür High School)
Abstract
Developed as a port city during the Ottoman modernization process, Mersin revealed distinctive characteristics, which differentiates it from the traditional Ottoman city, in terms of urban tissue and cultural diversity. Following this process, many institutional and cultural uses began to take place in urban form with the Republican modernization. Mersin became an alluring city within its close vicinity due to its emerging international commercial relations and business opportunities. Consequently, a new urban life came into existence in the city, different form that existed in other Anatolian cities. It triggered emergence of different land use units in urban form, which was evident especially with erection of buildings of cultural and educational use during the Republican period. People's House emerged as a cultural building while many schools was built during the Republican modernization. This study investigates urban development of Mersin during Ottoman and Republican modernization periods, depending on a significant educational building through explorations into the erection of the first high school of the city, Tevfik Sırrı Gür Lisesi, named after the governor of the period, through its relations to urban space. In this framework, urban development of Mersin is studied in relation to its education history and construction of Tevfik Sırrı Gür Lisesi after a discussion on education policy of the Republican period. And this process is discussed in relation to Republican modernization.
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