2024-12-18T15:22:26-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/63187957/soundtrack-of-a-city-baba-zula-gecekondu Orhan Ayyüce 2012-12-11T11:20:00-05:00 >2022-03-16T09:10:02-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/i9/i9uuampiha4e6czg.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>"The new album narrates urban life. It is rather personal music, bound up with this city, there are images of an asphalt jungle and a house that is being built in a city, and we always support the ones who don't have power." -Baba Zula</p></em><br /><br /><p> The new Baba Zula album is called "Gecekondu," a term used in Turkey for illegal settlements built on the fringes of major cities like Istanbul or Ankara. These growing slums, built with the simplest materials, have become home to many newcomers trying their luck in urban centers.</p> <p> One could argue, though, that there's more dignity and beauty in the gecekondus than in the ritzy financial districts now conquering the legendary inner city areas of Istanbul. One example is a historic district situated in the shadows of the Byzantine city wall, known as Sulukule, which has been almost completely torn down.</p> <p> The band opposes the gentrification of Istanbul.</p>