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For more than 500 years the Sulukule Roma quarter of Istanbul used to be home to one of the oldest Roma communities in the world. Despite strong resistance the quarter has been razed to the ground from 2006 to 2009. Residents were forced to accept resettlement terms. They were moved into new housing projects some 40 kilometers outside of Istanbul.
The Sululukle Roma Orchestra was founded in 2006 as a form of protest against the urban renewal. The orchestra’s aim is to keep the Roma culture alive in the community, despite the absence of any living quarters.