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History of Istanbul - The Modern Istanbul |
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THE INDEPENDENCE WAR AND THE REPUBLIC
With Anatolia under occupation by foreigners, the establishment of organizations seeking independence was followed by the start of a resistance movement. Despite all that had happened, the struggle for independence and organizing which started in Anatolia gradually became effective in Istanbul as well. Anatolia was under occupation. Meetings held in Sultanahmet Square on 23 and 30 May. 1919 to protest the occupying Greek Army in Izmir strengthened the resistance in Anatolia.
Ultimately, the War of Independence, which was led by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) spread throughout the country. Then, on 15-16 March, 1920, Istanbul was occupied by the Entente Powers, particularly by the English and French armies. Meanwhile, Vahdeddin was busy trying to crush the resistance in Anatolia. On 23 April. 1920. the TBMM (Turkish Grand National Assembly) was founded in Ankara to replace the abolished Parliamentary Assembly-Following the proclamation by the Turkish National Assembly on 01 November. 1922 that the Sultanate and the Caliphate were separated, that the Ottoman Empire was actually abolished and that the Turkish National Assembly was founded, Vahdettin fled Istanbul on 17 November 1922. Turkish troops entered the city on 06 October, 1923. And on 13 October, 1923 as Ankara was declared as the capital, Istanbul's journey as a capital city through the ages came to an end. The official relationship between Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire ended with the Caliphate legally abolished on 03 March, 1924. The National Assembly accepted the proposal presented by Mustafa Kemal and his friends for founding a Republic. He was then selected as the V1' President of the Republic of Turkey, The young Republic's first objective was to carry out revolutions for the process of modernization. Abolishing the Caliphate not only separated governmental and religious matters but paved the way for a secular government to come to power. The Language Reform replaced the use of the Arabic alphabet with the Latin alphabet. By means of the 'Hat' and 'Surname' laws Turkey became a country that had conformed with a contemporary world. Turkish women were given the legal right to vote and to be elected long before many European countries. Today's Istanbul was shaped during the Republic period. The population of Istanbul, which exceeded one million at the start of the century, had dropped to 700.000 in 1927. The improvement of the city's public works began in the first years of the Republic whereas the application of a plan drawn up by one of Europe's leading city planners, Henri Prost began in 1937. Following the declaration of Ankara as the capital, districts such as Fatih and Beyazit, which were formerly inhabited by government officials, vacated whereas Beyoglu became a district preferred by upper-income groups especially during the 1930s. While Qarsjkapi and Eminonu were once the city's commercial centers, a shift was seen starting in the 1950s towards istiklal Caddesi in Beyoglu. Istanbul regained its popularity during World War II after falling out of favor in the years of World War I and the Independence War. Istanbul experienced massive waves of family migration from Anatolia, which forced the city to steadily expand outwards. Merging the Marmara and the Black Sea, the Bosphorus divides the city into two parts, Asia and Europe. As a bridge spanning the Asian and European continents, Istanbul is the most important province of the country from the aspect of population. According to the results of the .2000 census, the population M— stands at just over tell million..There are 27 provincial districts within the borders of the province. Istanbul is one of the rare cities in the world not only for being the heart of a country's commercial and economic activity, but alsofor being a city where people from different cultures and traditions have been living together for ages. As Istanbul possesses all the possibilities of a contemporary city, it deserves the privilege of being a cultural capital. |
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