With the new memory tours in KarDes, you can discover the multicultural stories of the residents of and the buildings in Ankara's Hisar, Ulus Square, Jewish Quarter, and Kavaklıdere districts  and witness the change and transformation of these districts. Naz Göktan, Gülçin Kültür Şahin, Hale Soygazi, and Nişan Şirinyan voiced in Turkish language; while Ayla Jean Yackley and Simon Johns did the English language texts of the memory tours which last for an average of two hours with stops between 9 and 15.

You can explore many stops bearing traces of Ankara's multi-layered memory, such as Topalyans’ Shop, Ayios Nikolaos Greek Church, Ravza-i Terakki Boys' School, 1916 Ankara Fire, Kocamanoğlu Theater, and American Synagogue, either on the streets of Ankara or at your home, with KarDes.

In addition to the memory tours, you can access the cultural heritage inventory of nearly 200 buildings in Ankara, such as mosques, churches, synagogues, schools, cemeteries, vineyard houses, and cem houses, on the "Discover" section.

With KarDes, which presents a dynamic narrative with nearly 50 oral history interview videos, you can listen to the stories of Akba Bookstore, Flamingo Patisserie, Youth Park, Şengül Hamam, Kavaklıdere Cinema, Kuğulu Park, and Ankara Synagogue from the people of Ankara.

What is KarDes?

KarDes brings together unknown multicultural stories of the past and prepares walking routes narrated in Turkish and English. Users can walk through these routes with oral history videos and old photographs and discover the multi-layered past of the districts. In addition to the memory tours, with the Discover section, users have the opportunity to learn which cultural heritage sites exist in the districts they live in. KarDes will continue to add new ones to Ankara memory tours.

Click to download KarDes: Multicultural Memory tours Guide mobile application for free. 

Image source: "Ankara Kalesi - Ankara Castle", Salt Araştırma, https://archives.saltresearch.org/handle/123456789/117988