CACTUS CACTUS J Tour Bus Manag Econ CACTUS – Journal of Tourism Business, Management and Economics 2247-3297 ASE Publishing House Bucharest, Romania 10.24818/CTS/7/2025/2.04 cactus-2025-14 Research Article Z1, Z32 Understanding cultural tourism through the themes of history and identity in postmodern novels: the white castle Şengel Ümit https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1284-836X umitsengel@gmail.com Coşkun Zeki https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3695-619X Uz Sena https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2597-8062 Sakarya University of Applied Science, Sakarya, Türkiye Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Türkiye Sakarya University of Applied Science, Sakarya, Türkiye 15 12 2025 7 2 15122025 Copyright © 2025, The Author(s) 2025 The Author(s) This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Cultural tourism emerges from various sources rooted in social life. Novels that explore social elements such as history, identity, and culture serve as important written sources of information, stimulating tourists’ interest in destinations. Although concepts like history and identity are abstract, they can become significant attractions when highlighted by authors’ descriptive abilities within the narrative, influencing readers and arousing their curiosity. In this context, the study aims to identify the roles of novels in cultural tourism by examining the themes of history and identity in postmodern novels. The study used the autoethnographic method and analysed Orhan Pamuk’s “The White Castle,” which compares East and West through cultural values such as history and identity, as it was considered suitable for the study’s purpose. The results indicate that the novel presents cultural differences through elements such as identity, history, religion, city, language, art, and gastronomy. The novel vividly conveys these cultural differences through the interplay of plot and description.

 Keywords postmodern novel cultural tourism history identity

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