Project Starting Point
The earthquake of February 6, 2023, resulted in the loss of life and severe destruction of living spaces in many residential areas.
Hatay province and Antakya city center were among the cities most severely affected by the earthquake. Thousands of people were forced to abandon their homes due to the inability to meet basic needs such as water, food, electricity, and heating after the disaster. The messages written as mottos in various places by those who left the city are meaningful when read from the perspective of social and cultural anthropology: “We never left, we are here!”, “We will return, Hatay”, “We will raise you back, Hatay”, “It was destroyed seven times, we will rebuild you for the eighth time, Hatay”, and similar inscriptions can be seen on the city’s walls. These inscriptions were also widely shared by social media users.
The disaster in Antakya caused the loss of individuals in many ways, including their physical limbs and loved ones, and sometimes their homes, personal belongings, neighborhoods, and neighborly relationships. These events unfolded very quickly and suddenly. The sudden loss of all these elements is traumatic. At this point, we can say that another benefit of memory studies for the individual and society at large is their healing function.
The project, which presents the cultural elements of Antakya and includes the actors involved in the cultural activities that produced these cultural elements, is intended to have a healing function.
A significant loss in the February 6th earthquakes was related to space as well. Another aim of the project is to examine the relationship between “space” and “memory” based on information obtained from ethnographic interviews and to reflect the collective identity of being from Antakya.
In short, the project is expected to contribute to the reproduction of the concept of “being from Antakya – Antakian”, despite the shifting discourse in the field through field interviews.
The project is considered crucial for the preservation of cultural heritage, the online representation of individuals from different religions and ethnicities within Antakya, and the transmission of a culture of coexistence to future generations, as well as for the unity of Türkiye.
Antakya is a heterotopia where people from different religions and ethnicities, including Christian Arabs, Sunni Arabs, Alevi Arabs, Circassians, Turks, Uzbeks, Armenians, and a small number of Jews, live together. People from different religions and ethnicities have a culture of coexistence. Antakya has served as a model for Türkiye in many ways. To establish and sustain the harmonious coexistence of different cultural communities in Türkiye, it is hoped that Antakya will regain its former multicultural environment and demonstrate to the wider country that this unity is possible.
Scope and Boundary of the Research
In this research, “Antakya” refers to a region with a historical and cultural past.
