Simulating the Lost Homeland: Refugee Identity, Placemaking, and Translocal Subjectivity in AEK FC

Abstract

Aim: This article investigates placemaking through the case of the Hagia Sophia Stadium (ALLWYN Arena) of AEK Football Club, focusing on how the stadium cultivates belonging and emotional attachment among AEK supporters. Founded by Greek refugees from Istanbul, AEK embodies a history of displacement that continues to shape its identity.

Method: Using a qualitative interpretive approach, this study combines historical, spatial, and visual semiotic analysis of fieldwork photographs and visual materials from the ALLWYN Arena. The analysis examines how symbolic and spatial representations contribute to placemaking and the construction of collective refugee identity.

Results: The analysis demonstrates that the stadium functions not merely as a physical infrastructure but as a powerful simulacrum of lost homelands, sustaining a sense of continuity and identity for the descendants of displaced populations. Through symbolic elements such as emblems, architectural design, gate names, and a refugee-themed museum, the stadium operates simultaneously as a memorial site and a lived social space where history, memory, identity and fandom intersect.

Conclusion: In a globalized context where locality is increasingly fragmented and reconstituted, both AEK FC and its new stadium exemplify a form of “translocal subjectivity”—anchored in ancestral memory while continually evolving across new spatial and emotional geographies.

Keywords

• Placemaking
• translocality
• ΑΕΚ FC
• Hagia Sophia Stadium
• hyperreal

Kayıp Vatanın Simülasyonu: AEK FC'de Mülteci Kimliği, Mekân İnşası ve Yerel Ötesi Öznellik

Abstract

Amaç: Bu makale, AEK Futbol Kulübü'nün Ayasofya Stadyumu (ALLWYN Arena) örneğinde mekân inşası (placemaking) sürecini incelemekte ve stadyumun AEK taraftarları arasında aidiyet ve duygusal bağ oluşturma biçimlerine odaklanmaktadır. İstanbul’dan Yunanistan’a gelen Yunan mülteciler tarafından kurulan AEK, kimliğini şekillendirmeye devam eden bir yerinden edilme geçmişini bünyesinde barındırmaktadır.

Yöntem: Bu çalışma, nitel ve yorumlayıcı bir yaklaşım benimseyerek ALLWYN Arena'da gerçekleştirilen saha çalışması kapsamında elde edilen fotoğraflar ile görsel materyallerin tarihsel, mekânsal ve görsel semiyotik analizini bir araya getirmektedir. Analiz, sembolik ve mekânsal temsillerin mekân inşası (placemaking) süreçlerine ve kolektif mülteci kimliğinin inşasına nasıl katkıda bulunduğunu incelemektedir.

Bulgular: Çalışma, stadyumun yalnızca fiziksel bir yapı değil, aynı zamanda kaybedilen anavatanların güçlü bir simülakrı olduğunu ve yerinden edilmiş toplulukların torunlarına süreklilik ve kimlik duygusu sunduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Amblemler, mimari tasarım, kapı isimleri ve mülteci temalı bir müze gibi simgesel unsurlar aracılığıyla stadyum, hem bir anma mekânı hem de tarih, hafıza, kimlik ve taraftarlığın kesiştiği yaşayan bir sosyal alan işlevi görmektedir.

Sonuç: Yerelliğin giderek parçalandığı ve yeniden tanımlandığı küreselleşmiş bir dünyada, hem AEK FC hem de onun yeni stadyumu, “yerel ötesi bir öznelik” biçimini temsil etmektedir. Bu öznelik, atalara ait belleğe köklenirken, aynı zamanda yeni mekânsal ve duygusal coğrafyalarda sürekli olarak yeniden şekillenmektedir.

Keywords

• Mekân inşası
• yerel ötesilik
• AΕΚ FC
• Ayasofya Stadyumu
• hipergerçek

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