The Tree, The Mansion, and a Nation: Cultural Narratives of the Walking Mansion

The Walking Mansion in Yalova, Türkiye, holds a special place as a symbol of the Early Republican Period. In 1929, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, took a journey from İstanbul to Bursa aboard the Ertuğrul Yacht and encountered a remarkable plane tree situated along the Yalova coast. Atatürk, inspired by the shade, built a mansion for retreats. This two-story residence was completed in twenty-two days. In 1930, Atatürk saw a gardener pruning branches and remarked, “The branch will not be cut, the mansion will be moved!” This led to disassembling the mansion, excavating its foundation, and relocating it five meters east in three days. This study analyses the Walking Mansion through interrelated discourse analysis, integrating cultural narratives and national identity in Türkiye's Early Republican Period, complemented by site analysis for architectural interpretation. Accordingly, it is aimed to understand how an architectural edifice generates a cultural narrative in a newly established Republican state within political, cultural, social, and environmental contexts. Thus, the hidden meanings of the Walking Mansion are unveiled within the Turkish Republic’s history as a cultural narrative that reflects the state's gentle attitude, metaphorically aligned with Republican ideals and its multi-layered representations.