Abstract

Edirne province, which has hosted many civilizations throughout history, is a very rich city in terms of historical and cultural heritage. The richness of Edirne, which is one of the cities with high tourism potential in Turkey, gives the city an identity. Due to its geopolitical location, Edirne, which has traces of many civilizations from the Thracians to the Ottomans, has historical and cultural accumulation as well as many cultural and touristic items. One of these elements is Edirne Red, a tone of red, which is known as "Edirne" all over the world. Edirne Red, more commonly known as "Rouge d'Andrinople" abroad, represents not only a color but also concrete and abstract concepts as a cultural value. Edirne Red, which draws attention as a historical color obtained after a very laborious dyeing process and for which a lot of effort and money was spent, has been forgotten over time with the effect of mechanization in the industry after the Industrial Revolution.

Qualitative research methods were used in this study, which aimed to reveal the effect of the studies on Edirne Red, which after a series of articles published in a local newspaper in Edirne in 2017, on the urban identity of Edirne. 20 representatives living in Edirne who are thought to contribute to the development of urban tourism were determined and open-ended questions were asked to them. In line with the answers received, Edirne Red; awareness, time, product, positive and negative predictions for the future, and the collected data were analyzed through the MAXQDA 2020 program. It is aimed that this study, which can be used by all city stakeholders in the planning of future activities related to Edirne Red, will contribute to the promotion, urban identity, tourism, culture and economy of Edirne province in a sustainable way.