Hood: Yeldeğirmeni. Writer: Ahu Toksöz. Photos:Deniz Sabuncu.Physically, Yeldeğirmeni’s borders are Halitağa-Hasanpaşa-Haydarpaşa and Taşköprü. In the face of the ever-increasing, bustling crowds of Hasanpaşa and Kadıköy, this neighbourhood is still a calm collective, as productive as possible, open to solidarity, where almost everyone knows each other. Five years have passed since I came to the neighbourhood. Ten years ago, I had spent three years here, it was a different time. There were not so many areas for people to socialise outside their homes, and there was a structure that attracted outsiders and provided diversity. Being here could not go beyond the advantages of proximity to other locations. Now we can spend weeks without leaving the neighbourhood. "Should we go down to Kadıköy?" is a sentence that occasionally crosses our minds, that we ask each other with a question mark followed by an ellipsis.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/5/1663934700040.jpeg" width="550" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Ahu with her plants<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Urban Biodiversity</h2>Yeldeğirmeni is a neighbourhood that prefers talking things out. It is solution orientated. Cleanliness, security and area recognition are our sensitive points. The invisible, transparent ties between us go from designing a project together to having the signboard of your shop made by someone from the neighbourhood, to sharing with your next-door neighbour if you bought a watermelon that’s too big. I would like to explain the microcosm here as urban biodiversity. It affects and triggers, it is very lively and constantly in motion. It is a centre where everyone cleans after themselves; where viewers wander between showcases and workshops; a place that nomads miss; where permanent residents come together in solidarity. What attracts my attention the most is that even those whose homes are not here, but who spend time here during the day because their workplace is here, feel as part of the neighbourhood and feel comfortable saying ‘I live here.'<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/5/1663941623946.jpeg" width="550" ratio="0.67" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">The carpenter that eases the neighbours life<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">The relationship with the past is continuous in Yeldeğirmeni. When you look around, you see on almost every street, there are houses with bay windows, balconies, and courtyards, and there are small businesses such as bakeries, carpenters, tailors, and hardware stores that have been here since the old days. Yeldeğirmeni and Çağrı Fırın, carpenter and antique dealer Mehmet Abi; Uncle Hasan the tailor, who rarely smiles but never spares his advice on taking good care of your clothes, are some of them. There is Ecevit, an older brother type. There is no work he has not done with a wheelbarrow. We call him if goods need to be moved. If something needs to be solved, Ecevit is consulted. In repair and renovation works, craftspeople are not called by phone, you either go to the shop or visit the place where they are working that day and ask if they are available. The few remaining neighbourhood coffee houses have become cohabitation areas with the new generation of venues right next to them. Also, street vendors are the regulars here. They carry a lot of memories. We buy all our belongings from Uncle Mehmet the junk dealer. The fruit seller keeps our calendar. Thanks to him we are aware of the seasons. He reminds us with his big voice that it is time to eat bonito fish this time of year.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/5/1663934764888.jpeg" width="550" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Ahu's beloved ones<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">The story of transformation in recent history</h2>The transformation of this neighbourhood contains a delicate balance. As Karaköy and Beyoğlu were gentrified, as it’s often talked about, people started to move to this area, which is an example of the transformation in recent history. After 2015, Yeldeğirmeni became a refuge for those fleeing from high prices and crowds, and with their arrival, the neighbourhood of course transformed, and in a sense became more attractive. It has evolved into a route whose name is heard more frequently and arouses curiosity for those passing through Kadıköy.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/6/1664009919744.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Someone who doesn't have to think about the rent<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Yeldeğirmeni also has a large foreign population of students, artists, and expats. Since some foreigners can pay rent with Euros and Dollars, they are favoured by the house owners. Neighbourhood shopkeepers increase their prices when they see those who are earning foreign currency and spending it in Turkey. This has long been a cause of tension between the residents of the neighbourhood and some shopkeepers. Even those with purchasing power have a keen awareness of this and struggle with it; they react to being exploited. Unfortunately, socio-cultural dilemmas arise as well. When the neighbourhood becomes a centre of attraction, the coexistence of different cultures may not always create the harmony we dream of. The only thing that attracted our attention a year ago was the diversity of this multiculturalism. Nowadays, it may cause resentment from time to time. But the neighbourhood residents and shopkeepers maintain courtesy and fairness in situations that may cause a crisis.Now, for a second historic era, the Age of the Pandemic. We went through a period in which we observed and questioned not only the places that closed and opened, but also concepts such as loneliness and togetherness in the neighbourhood. I feel good that I spent this period in this neighbourhood. In Yeldeğirmeni, it looks like you can just pull up a chair and join a table, and it is that way. This is a place that can host everyone, from those who want to spend their day with no stress to those who work hard. Thanks to the art and design workshops, there is a visitor profile focused on production instead of consumption.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/5/1663935015096.jpeg" width="550" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.67" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Is watering plants counts the first step for transformation?<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">All about ‘Nadas’</h2>Nadas is a creative space that supports projects that value the diversity of city life and the relationships between people and their environment, dedicated to urban biodiversity, nature conservation, the healing power of art, and the impact of art. It’s a community. Opposing the idea of a uniform urban life, we are focused on a life that can change, transform and produce with flexibility and resistance that the city harbours. If we were a person in the neighbourhood, we would define ourselves as calm, accessible, consulting and pleasant.Of course, it is not a coincidence that we chose Yeldeğirmeni as our home. Since we have a community-based programme, accessibility with transportation was at the forefront. Due to the importance we attach to local production and nutrition, we had to start meeting all of our needs from the neighbourhood. We wanted to be not only raconteurs but also practitioners. Yeldeğirmeni allowed us to do this. Women's groups, especially the Yerdeniz Cooperative, are very active among themselves, and you will definitely get support here in solving problems and sharing goods. It is the ideal place to both meet our needs and set a precedent for city dwellers who want to consume locally and seasonally.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/5/1663943055125.jpeg" width="550" ratio="0.67" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Yeldeğirmeni streets that lead to the sea<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">We always include the neighbourhood in our events. We tour the streets of Yeldeğirmeni in our drawing classes. We have Worm Compost, Cold Compost, and Bokashi compost systems. Those who come to our shop bring their waste. Nora Byrne, who also has a workshop in Nadas, makes a series of collages with upcycled paper. We save the papers that we think might be of interest to Nora. When we want to add it to the compost, we ask for tea and coffee pulp from the neighbouring cafes when what we throw away is not enough. For our worms, we buy vegetables such as lettuce and parsley that the markets throw away.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/5/1663935120464.jpeg" width="550" ratio="0.67" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">This one is for those who want to learn to compost<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">A restorative method: compost</h2>As a permaculture designer, the use of energy and resources is the most important issue for me. I don't want to call the process sustainable. Unfortunately, it is an overused concept, but I won't blame anyone for this because the concept was already problematic. I prefer to call it restorative instead. In nature, the cyclicality of everything is what creates life. For example, in worm compost, worms are decomposers. We feed our green waste to worms and get their fertiliser, which is used to feed our gardens and pots. The cycle of life and death in nature continues marvellously. Compost is not only feeding the plant but also the soil. When the soil loses its living microbiology, it loses not only its nutrients but also its water retention. That's why it makes sense to call what we do here restorative. Although we seem to be repairing our garden on a small scale and growing our own products without pesticides, we are actually creating life on a larger scale. After the recent forest fires in our country and in many parts of the world, we can turn to a more effective method instead of forestation campaigns, which is compost that protects the microbiotic richness of the soil.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/8/5/1663935226083.jpeg" width="550" ratio="0.67" style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px; vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" fr-original-style="width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">A philodendron that tries to heal<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left; margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">A good turn</h2>Gentrification creates fear of demolition and destruction among Yeldeğirmeni locals. Cafes that are constantly opening and closing; neglected and vacant buildings; hotels; grocery stores that upset small business owners are examples of these. These situations are followed by parking problems and the occupation of sidewalks. Airbnb can of course be understood as an income model, but the transformation of this into a profit model threatens the harmony within the neighbourhood. Everyone is waiting for a solution, but being able to produce is also a catalyst for society and coexistence. I think it is a constructive attitude not to remain unresponsive, not to say, ‘What can you do? It happens, it is always like this.’ Regarding simple rules of living together, such as space violations, cleaning problems, and noise issues, we sometimes seek solutions with the mukhtar, the elected neighbourhood representative, and sometimes among ourselves. We feel that this place has a settled community when it comes to problem-solving. There are many places like Nadas that initiate change on their own. I believe that our surroundings mirror our individual choices, and that is why we gather in this neighbourhood. Individuals tend to think that some things are not possible in the city. This is a lazy way of thinking. The city may be rugged, but it is not impossible to build a potential, more ideal life.Sometimes it starts with very simple actions. When the new café puts a table that actually is the spot of a neighbourhood stray dog, we warn them. If we don't do it, another friend who cares for the dog may react more impulsively. We have to reject disorderly and destructive systems to form our own practices. We live in Yeldeğirmeni by believing that it is possible, and by constructing it ourselves.

Soli

"It is a centre where everyone cleans after themselves; where viewers wander between showcases and workshops; a place that nomads miss; where permanent residents come together in solidarity."

The neighbourhood for everyone 

"Katılımcıların kapısının önünü süpürdüğü; izleyicilerin vitrinler ve atölyeler arasında gezindiği; konar-göçerlerin özlediği; daimi sakinlerin dayanıştığı merkez."

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