VIRTUAL ISTANBUL HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

This paper examines how movement (routes, pauses, micro-gestures) and people’s own personal narratives serve to structure memory and social relations in the historic Arar House in Irbid, Jordan. Using local interviews, on-site observation, and plan-based movement mapping, this study codes movement by selection (through salient cues) and sequence (spatial order/thresholds) and relates them to memory. It then uses visual representation to demonstrate how memories are aligned to space. The Arar House is an intimate, family-oriented interior, where memories cluster around sensory cues, where texture, shade, and shadow, along with birdsong and the sounds of the nearby mosque and church link the house to collective images of the old city. Preserving old houses in their original condition using minimal additions helps to recall these memories and thus preserve identity. This paper lays out a method for mapping “memory in motion,” calling for a more human-centered preservation doctrine. It posits that studying movement patterns results in a better understanding of how to preserve architecture for the community’s memory and belonging.