Emine Sevgi Ozdamar's perception of the city

This paper attempts to examine the perception of the city and of space of Emine Sevgi Ozdamar. Her works which are frequently analyzed in intercultural context also show certain spatial traces in metropolitan literature. In this context, her partially autobiographical novel "Seltsame Sterne starren zur Erde" (2003) as well as two short stories "Mein Berlin" and "Mein Istanbul" from her volume "Hof im Spiegel" (2001) were chosen and the metropolitan perception discussed in an exemplary manner. The cities Berlin and Istanbul, described as places of action as well as a memorial to the seventies, are analyzed comparatively and the similarities and differences of these cities are shown in the light of the selected texts. How are the cities Berlin and Istanbul metaphorically presented? What do the past experiences in East and Westberlin and in Istanbul mean for the feminine narrator while searching for identity and intercultural contact? How does the metropolitan space influence Emine Sevgi Ozdamar's texts stylistically and themewise? The main questions are being discussed on hand of selected texts from intercultural and metropolitan literature and in the light of interdisciplinary aspects.