"arkewallojistanbul" now out on 7UPstairs publishing.

Open publication - Free publishing - More anthropology

Welcome to “arkewallojistanbul” (ArcheWALLogy Istanbul), to the study of a graphic city, a city that begs to redefine what “wall” means, from the huge and thick stones that make up the mosques to the makeshift structures that eventually become boutiques, all of these offer alternatives to the brick and mortar official appellation of a wall. Welcome to a city so enamored with itself it keeps referring to itself in the third person, where – despite the metro, bus, and tram stations – it still begs you to lose yourself in order to find it (hence the lack of page numbering). Latent beneath the tourist trap folklore, it also offers a vibrant alternative scene waiting to be discovered. Strata beneath strata – horizontally rather than vertically – it offers a trip to a distant and not so distant past. So, to misquote the merchants always preying for yet another victim: “Hello my friend, which country you come from? Come into my book, best prices!” Enjoy the trip!


Tarek Chemaly