The XLXS file contains the database "Foundation properties" featured in the article "'Ripping it apart': How an anti-discrimination law transformed Istanbul."
The database is the product of a Pulitzer Center-funded investigation into the confiscation, reclamation and development of the real estate properties of 167 non-Muslim communal charitable foundations in Istanbul, from the final years of the Ottoman Empire until today. It catalogues the history of dozens of buildings that sit along a main artery of the city, including how they have changed name and function, whether they were confiscated, restituted and registered, whether they were involved in a court case, whether they were slated for redevelopment and by whom and other relevant details on the properties. While the state has confiscated thousands of properties owned by non-Muslim foundations across Turkey, this representative selection has allowed for the telling of a more precise and revealing story.
The data was compiled though interviews, OSINT, archival research and research already conducted by the Hrant Dink Foundation in its project "2012 Declaration" (on the properties of Armenian foundations) and by Melih Cılga in his project for the workshop "Facing the Past, Looking Ahead" funded by P24 and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (on the properties of Greek foundations). "Foundation properties" includes research into land registry files, foundation reports, court cases, public bulletins, megaproject investigations, real estate news clippings and articles in Armenian media in various languages. Because much of the information is withheld from the public, the data that could be collected was cross-referenced with dozens of interviews with lawyers, historians, urban researchers, foundation board presidents and members, journalists, non-Muslim community representatives, bibliopoles, contractors, architects, neighbors and other people familiar with these properties.
To read about why these properties were confiscated and how they were reclaimed and redeveloped, see the article "'Ripping it apart': How an anti-discrimination law transformed Istanbul," published in Middle East Eye (citation: Naomi Cohen, "'Ripping it apart': How an anti-discrimination law transformed Istanbul," Middle East Eye, April 2022).
The database cannot be modified, but it can be downloaded for public use including research, publication and teaching. Please send any errors or concerns to naomicohen@protonmail.com — we are happy to consider them and will update the database accordingly.
"Foundation properties" has an Open Database License https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/ and a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/.
Please cite the database as: Naomi Cohen, “Foundation properties,” Middle East Eye, April 2022.