Life in the Open

The main courtyard of Topkapi Palace

Istanbul has a very different history of open spaces from most western European and North American cities. While the street life is arguably livelier, there are little truly public open spaces in the city. Whether due to a history of religious conflict or simply a cultural way of life, green space is spare and in many areas of the city trees are hard to be found. Many of the green spaces in the city (such as the Topkapi Palace gardens) were long restricted to common people and reserved for the elite.

A pavillion on the Hippodrome

The Hippodrome is one of the earliest public spaces which still remains a strong landmark in use today. Constructed when the city was still named Byzantium, it was the central destination for horse and chariot races through Constantinople's reign and the entire Byzantine period before it was neglected by the Ottomans. Given that these spaces are now used more by tourists than locals, are they still true public space in the sense that public spaces are for the publicus /people?