Chapters 25 through 28 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 25, Under Western Eyes, begins with the author saying he was troubled by his interest in how the city was viewed by westerners. While many Turks are critical of certain aspects of their culture, they are also hurt when westerners, including writers, criticize these same things, and the things western observers identify as exotic are the same things residents see as obstacles to be removed as soon as possible. The city became less exotic as it became more westernized. As Pamuk was growing up, the Turkification of Istanbul led to a degree of ethnic cleansing; for example, people were essentially forced to speak Turkish in public. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Istanbul residents wrote little about the city, so impressions came only from western writers.

Chapter 26 is called The Melancholy of the Ruins: Tanpinar and Yahya Kemal...