ALTAY TUZ - NEW OTTOMAN

‘New Turkey’ is a term frequently used by the current government of Turkey, that seeks to radically change modern Turkey to a conservative state. 
‘Inventing a new tradition’ is the method being used by the current AKP government for the sake of a so-called ‘New Turkey’. Inventing traditions are a set of practices that teach certain values and norms of behaviour with a connection to the past. It is an attempt to control parts of social life within the constant change of the modern world. Architecture is the most physically noticeable form used to create these traditions. Indeed, it is a method that has been used throughout the history to show one’s existence and power. 
Many government-built houses, schools, mosques, city gates, shopping malls, restaurants and cafes are currently being designed in this brutal ‘New Ottoman’ design. Although these designs are defined as a mixture of Ottoman-Seljuk architecture, they do not actually represent the past.