10.17192/meta.2019.12.7931 Roelcke, Annegret Annegret Roelcke Constructing the Capital of Peace: Changing Branding Strategies for Istanbul’s Eyüp Quarter Middle East - Topics + Arguments : Vol 12 (2019) Philipps-Universität Marburg 2019 City Guidebooks AKP Eyüp Neo-Ottomanism City Branding Urban Heritage Politics Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS) 2019-07-10 2019-06-25 en JournalArticle https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0003/2019/230/7931 urn:nbn:de:hebis:04-0003-2019-230-79315 https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0003/2019/230/7931/7931.png 2196-629X application/pdf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 This article analyzes how the Justice and Development Party (AKP)-led local municipality changed branding strategies for Istanbul’s Eyüp quarter since its predecessor took office in 1994. Portraying itself as the savior of Eyüp’s heritage and Eyüp as the symbol of a larger imagined Islamic-Ottoman community, the AKP legitimizes its political rule on various levels. The diachronic comparison of municipal city guidebooks illustrates how the framing of Eyüp and its branding strategies changed with shifting political contexts. The recent strategy to attract diverse tourists as multipliers to consume and spread the AKP’s identity narratives demonstrates the political nature of tourism branding. 2196-629X Middle East - Topics + Arguments Vol 12 (2019)