Istanbul is more a “country” than a city. It is more than a touristic city; it is a political, economic, and cultural powerhouse. It is more effective in these fields than many countries around the world. Its political history is as old as the history of humanity. Just as it was the capital of Rome and the Ottoman Empire, it has also served as the capital of Islam and shaped European history and geography for centuries.
The abandonment of the 20th century aside, Istanbul has been increasing its impact on a global scale at a much faster pace in the last 15 years. It has gravitated toward the opportunity to compete with the political, economic, diplomacy, and cultural power of central European cities such as London, New York, and Paris, and is progressing toward becoming one of the star cities of the 21st century.
A “Rise of Istanbul” is in question in parallel with Turkey kick-starting the historic rise. Its economy alone is bigger than 140 countries worldwide. Its strength of being an informatics center, a role it assumed in recent years, has already progressed enough to leave Western capitals in the rearview mirror.
Regardless of how you calculate the scale of our “region’s” depth and width today, Istanbul is great, rich and pioneering enough to fulfill it all. From Africa to Far Asia, from the Middle East to Central Asia, Istanbul is a legend, a dream.
It is the city of big ideas, great dreams, and major innovation. Istanbul is an identity, it is Turkey’s wealth, its most impressive force. It is the country’s gateway that opens to regional and global power.
Being the mayor of such a city is not the mayorship of the metropolitan municipality only. It is beyond a duty and responsibility limited to Istanbul, to Istanbulites alone. Neither the problems, needs, nor the opportunities of this city are specific to Istanbul. Because, in a way, all of Turkey is in Istanbul; it endures its challenges and benefits from its opportunities.
This is what came to my mind as I was listening to Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate Binali Yıldırım yesterday. As a candidate running for mayor, he held a long conversation with media representatives. The meeting was the picture of representation in the broadest sense. He said, “I am open to all kinds of questions, ask what you like.” He answered every question open-heartedly.
Yıldırım said, “Istanbulites desire a city that will meet their dreams and expectations. Istanbul is going to demand and we are going to oblige,” and added, “We have 25 years’ experience in the local administration. Whether it was for better or for worse, we are responsible for the [first] quarter century. With the March 31 elections, we aim to usher in a new era that will last another 25 years. The first destination of this era is 2023, the centenary of our Republic.” This statement alone is enough to explain his Istanbul vision.
The world, Turkey, and Istanbul are all changing accordingly. The topics of discussion in the past used to be trash, lack of water, and air pollution. Now, we are entering a new period in which everything is tested with knowledge, informatics, and technology. It classifies the first era as “Istanbul 1.0,” and the new era as “Istanbul 4.0.”
You will find the details of the speech in the papers. The points I identified are: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan nominated a very strong candidate for Istanbul. This election is a sign of brand new projects and plans for Istanbul. Yıldırım’s mayorship of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is going to pave the way for serious innovations. The AK Party, a revolutionary in running municipalities, is preparing for the next step, the second revolution.
The municipality “model” to be developed in Istanbul, will be not only for Turkey but the world. Vast experience has been gained in infrastructure services. These will run automatically. Mr. Yıldırım is focused on building new things. It is obvious he has a lot in his mind in this respect. His mind is clear, he is sure of himself, and knows what he needs to do.
He is working on our country’s goals for the centenary of the Republic, on how best to motivate the youth, and the direction he will take Turkey on. He is going to be able to apply these plans in Istanbul. He wants to achieve the “rise of Istanbul.”
He wants to introduce a concept change in municipal services. He believes more social, aesthetic, and cultural topics will give greater excitement from now on, leading to mass contribution, and that after physical development, it is now time for the next steps.
He believes that municipal service for Istanbul is beyond the post of mayor, and that taking action from a greater scale has become mandatory. We are going to see each and every one of these projects in time, which he confirmed by saying, “I shouldn’t reveal everything today. We are going to have many more opportunities, we will explain them then.” He is going to share each of his projects within the scope of the campaign in the upcoming days.
It appears Yıldırım’s mayorship is not going to be limited to the scale of mayorship, to known services only. He wants to realize a miracle. He has concrete projects in mind, not empty promises or vain dreams.
Based on his efforts in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, his long years of experience as the transportation minister, prime minister and speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, – thus his very strong political experience – and the numerous innovations he achieved in Turkey, a great deal flashed in my mind with respect to the kind of “Istanbul identity” he will realize.
When asked, “What is your crazy project for Istanbul?” his response, “Binali Yıldırım” is a testament to this. I believe an era of great ideas, major projects, and extremely important innovations is starting for Istanbul.
