The photographic project Fikirtepe: The Other Side of Urban Transformation documents the dramatic urban transformation of Fikirtepe, a historic neighborhood in Istanbul. Over the past decade, this district has experienced one of the most extensive redevelopment processes in Turkey.

Once defined by low-rise houses, narrow streets, and a strong sense of community, Fikirtepe is now changing rapidly. Large-scale construction projects are replacing traditional buildings with new residential towers. This transformation is reshaping the physical landscape and altering the social identity of the neighborhood.

Through photography, the project explores how this urban transformation is changing the character of the area.

Documenting the Transformation of Fikirtepe

The project follows different phases of the urban transformation of Fikirtepe. The photographs show everyday life before demolition, the destruction of buildings, and the empty spaces that remain after structures disappear.

Rather than focusing on the new architecture that replaces the old city, the work concentrates on the moment when familiar spaces vanish. Crumbling walls, abandoned apartments, and silent streets reveal the fragile stage between habitation and redevelopment.

These images create a visual archive of a neighborhood in transition.

Traces of Domestic Life

Many photographs focus on interiors left behind after residents moved away. Objects, furniture, and fragments of domestic spaces remain visible inside empty apartments.

These elements transform ordinary rooms into visual testimonies of everyday life. They remind viewers that every demolished building once contained personal stories and memories.

By documenting these details, the project highlights what urban transformation often erases: the human presence within the architecture.

Absence and Memory

The absence of people plays an important role in the visual language of the project. Empty corridors, broken windows, and abandoned staircases create a quiet atmosphere.

Objects and architectural traces suggest the lives that once filled these spaces. Through this perspective, urban transformation appears not only as a physical change but also as a transformation of collective memory.

The photographs invite viewers to imagine the stories hidden behind these silent environments.

Photography and Urban Memory

Fikirtepe: The Other Side of Urban Transformation offers a visual testimony of a neighborhood caught between past and future. The project documents spaces during a brief moment of transition before redevelopment reshapes the district completely.

Cities constantly evolve, but photography can preserve fragments of disappearing landscapes. By documenting the urban transformation of Fikirtepe, this project reflects on how architecture, memory, and identity remain deeply connected.

About the author:
Yonca İnceoğlu is a documentary photographer based in Türkiye. She began her photographic journey in 2015 and gradually developed a strong interest in visual storytelling.

Her work focuses on human stories, everyday life and the traces left within spaces. Through long-term documentary projects, she explores themes such as memory, social change and the relationship between people and the environments they inhabit.

By observing both people and places, she aims to document the quiet narratives embedded in daily life and the transformations occurring within society.

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