Contents

Memory-Space Relationship in Urban Identity: The Case of Erzurum City Center and Yakutiye Madrasa

Author(s): Çağatay Takva1, Fatma Zehra Çakıcı2, Seda Akpınar3
1Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara 06530, Türkiye
2Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Atatürk University, 25240 Erzurum, Türkiye
3Institute of Natural and Applied Sciences, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Türkiye
Çağatay Takva
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Gazi University, Ankara 06530, Türkiye
Fatma Zehra Çakıcı
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Atatürk University, 25240 Erzurum, Türkiye
Seda Akpınar
Institute of Natural and Applied Sciences, Atatürk University, Erzurum 25240, Türkiye

Abstract

Urban identity is the multifaceted reflection of a nation’s social, cultural, and historical phenomena. In this study, the memory-space relationship was investigated in Erzurum city center in Türkiye. The aim of the study is to observe the relationship between the concepts of collective, social, popular, and cultural memory, and Yakutiye Madrasa and its surroundings, one of the symbolic and historical buildings. City dwellers were asked statistical questions that evoke city-memory, and psychological and physical feelings were also included in the evaluation process. As a result, it was seen that the concepts of memory made associations in the building and its surroundings and took place in the memories of the participants. Based on the survey study, it was observed that there was not enough association regarding collective memory. According to the responses, social and popular memory was highlighted by 56%, and cultural memory by 39%.

Keywords: cultural memory, Erzurum, memory-space, urban identity, Yakutiye Madrasa
Copyright © 2026 Çağatay Takva, Fatma Zehra Çakıcı, Seda Akpınar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.