Yedikule lettuce as urban legend :|environmental imaginary of Istanbul in the early twentieth century

Abstract

This thesis explores the emergence of Yedikule lettuce, an endemic plant of Istanbul, as a legendary figure of the city. Drawing on literary sources from print media and fiction of the early Republican era, as well as photographic works, it tries to gage the lore around this produce, its origins and the role it had in the making of the cosmopolitan character that is much attributed to Istanbul. Through the perspective of lettuce cultivation, and leisurely activities in the market gardens of the city, this thesis also undertakes the task of tracing the changes in the environmental imaginary of Istanbul in the early twentieth century. An in-depth survey of the developing medical technologies in the latter half of the nineteenth century further contribute to the transformation that the city was undergoing at the time.