The Memory of a Destroyed City; Sur

The urban transformation process in the Alipaşa and Lalebey neighborhoods of Diyarbakır's Sur district began in 2009. However, due to public resistance and protests, the project was halted in 2013. Despite this, in 2016, the area was declared a “risky zone” and a decision was made to expropriate it.

During the demolitions that began in 2017, neighborhood residents refused to leave their homes. In response, electricity and water services were cut off, both neighborhoods were surrounded by police barriers, and people were forcibly removed from their homes. Despite the resistance, the houses were demolished one by one, and the neighborhood residents were displaced from the area.

People who grew up with Sur's unique street culture and neighborly relationships were relocated to apartments built by TOKİ. However, these new living spaces could not carry the warmth, solidarity, and spirit of the old neighborhoods. After the demolition, hotels and commercial buildings rose in the areas where the neighborhoods had stood.

Ultimately, the Alipaşa and Lalebey neighborhoods were destroyed not only physically but also in terms of their social memory. Sur's ancient identity suffered a deep wound. What happened here was not just the demolition of buildings; it was the severing of people's lives, their neighborly relationships, and their connection to the place.

Today, a large part of Alipaşa and Lalebey has been destroyed. In their place, “modern” but soulless and identity-less structures have been built.

Urban transformation in these lands has been etched into memory not as a renewal, but as a story of erased memory and displaced life.

As derelict houses were demolished in the Alipaşa and Lalebey neighbourhoods, which were included in the urban transformation project, some residents resisted leaving their homes. Despite it being Ramadan, the Diyarbakır Municipal Administrator and the Governor's Office first cut off the neighbourhoods' electricity and then their water supply. Neighbourhood residents wrote on the walls, ‘Heartless people, turn on the water, we are fasting, you faithless people!’ In Alipaşa Neighbourhood, a woman walks home holding her child's hand.