Between Blindness of Secularism and Discrimination, Cem-Houses in Turkey

This paper focused on cem-houses as unrecognised places of worship of Alevis and their socio-spatial meaning from the urban planning and human rights perspectives. Paper based on fieldworks about Alevi places of worships. Fieldworks continued mainly in Turkey and also in United Kingdom. Meaning and role of place about sustaining the cultural identity of religious minorities on public space were analysed. With the evaluation of in-depth interviews and participant observations, Alevi cem-houses establishment process tried to be explored. Spatial adjustments history of these groups have been revealed by their narratives and discourses, with the help of GIS based maps. Expression of Alevi identity on public space will be evaluated with the relation of human rights and geography of religion perspectives. Main obstacles of Turkish urban planning legislation for recognizing cem-houses and places of worship will be revealed in the paper.