Intellectual Kurdistanbul – Approaching Istanbul As A Diasporic Experience

Abstract

Istanbul is the biggest Kurdish city. This fact, which might look controversial on the first sight, is the outcome of different waves of Kurdish migration to one of the biggest cities in Turkey – a country directly linked as the cause for these migrations. Kurdish migration to Istanbul is very diverse and created many different experiences of a Kurdish Istanbul. The article will focus on an intellectual Kurdish Istanbul, created and experienced by self-identified Kurdish Istanbulites, who engage with their identity in an intellectual and kurdophile way.