Abstract:

Reading Turkish Modernization on the case of Ankara Palas: “A Window Opens from East to West” This study discusses the Turkish Modernization on the case of Ankara Palas where was one of the socio-cultural and political symbols of Early Republican Era considering that certain spaces as the places of memory are not independent from political and cultural atmosphere. Particularly during the modernization process of 19th century, spaces were used to adopt the modernization ideology. Turkish Modernization which aimed to form a modern nation state had also used these kinds of spatial formations such as the decisions of new capital, Ankara, and its reconstruction. Ankara Palas was also one of the places in where the modern face of New Government was introduced to society and the foreigners. The ideal model was learned and practiced by the new elites in Ankara Palas. In this article, the roles, importance, socio-cultural functions of Ankara Palas and goals of its construction were discussed to evaluate the main characteristics of Turkish Modernization in the Early Republican Era. Beyond, two of the important symbols of the Turkish Modernization, the modern women portraits and balls, in Ankara Palas were additionally discussed. The well-known two national newspapers of the era called Hakimiyet-i Milliye and Cumhuriyet and the memory books that tell Ankara and Ankara Palas were analyzed

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