Çatalca () is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 1142 km², making it the largest district in Istanbul Province by area. Its population is 77,468 (2022). It is in

East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

, on the ridge between the Marmara and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. Most people living in Çatalca are either farmers or those visiting vacation homes. Many families from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

come to Çatalca during weekends to hike in the forests or have picnics.

History

Antiquity

Modern Çatalca partly lies on the site of Ergisce or Ergiske (), a Greek city in

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, located in the region of the

Propontis The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

. According to ancient texts, it was named after Ergiscus (), a son of

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

through the

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...

(nymph) Aba (), presumed in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

to be a daughter of the river Hebros. Under Roman rule, the city was named Metrae or Metre () and was important enough in the late

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

of Europa to become a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of its capital Heraclea's

metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

, yet was to fade.

Modern period

Çatalca was settled throughout the Ottoman period and according to the Ottoman Official Statistics of 1910 the majority of the area were

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

. The

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

caused a mass exodus of

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

towards Ottoman lands. A few Crimean Tatars settled in Çatalca. In the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

the

Bulgarian army The Bulgarian Army (), also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in ...

had driven the Turkish forces back from the border, but the Turkish forces retreated to the prepared positions at Çatalca where on 16–17 November 1912 they defeated the Bulgarians at the " First Battle of Çatalca".Hall, Richard C. (2000) ''The Balkan Wars 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War'' Routledge, London
page 69
Black, Jeremy (2002) ''Warfare in the Western World, 1882-1975'' Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana
page 40
The Çatalca fortifications formed a line across the peninsula, the "Chataldja line", which became the armistice line of 3 December 1912, after Bulgaria decided not to attack

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

at that time. Upon expiration of the armistice, on 3 February .S. 21 January1913, hostilities recommenced and the Second Battle of Çatalca began. It was a series of thrusts and counter-thrusts by both the Ottomans and the Bulgarians and lasted until 3 April 1913. There were a large number of journalists who reported on the military actions at Çatalca, whose accounts provide rich details about this event. According to the Ottoman population statistics of 1914, the

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

of Çatalca had a total population of 30.165, consisting of 16.984

, 13.034 Muslims, 53

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 44

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, 40

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

and 10

Roma people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , ...

. Before 1930, Çatalca also covered present districts of

Arnavutköy Arnavutköy ( ' Albanian village'; ) is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Beşiktaş, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 3,574 (2022). It is renowned for its wooden Ottoman mansions and seafood restaurants, as well a ...

Beylikdüzü Beylikdüzü () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 39 km2, and its population is 415,290 (2024). It is on the European side of Istanbul, located north of the Sea of Marmara, south of Esenyurt, east of ...

, Büyükçekmece, western parts of

Başakşehir Başakşehir is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 107 km2, and its population is 514,900 (2022). It is in the European part of Istanbul. The district is home to İsta ...

, rural parts of Eyüp and

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 177 km2 and its population is 350,454 (2022). It is on the northeastern part of Istanbul's European side. Sarıyer al ...

. In 1930 county (bucak) of Kilyos was part of district of Sarıyer, used to be part of

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

. At same time, villages of Odayeri, Ağaçlı, İhsaniye and Kısırmandıra (Işıklar after 1987) were passed to Kemerburgaz county (formerly part of Beyoğlu district) of Sarıyer. In 1963, villages as Arnavutköy, Bolluca, Hacımaşlı, Haraççı and İmrahor of Boyalık (its center was Hadımköy) county part of district of

Gaziosmanpaşa Gaziosmanpaşa (; old name: ''Taşlıtarla'') is a developing working class municipality ( belediye) and district of Istanbul, Turkey, on its European side. Its area is 12 km2, and its population is 495,998 (2022). Esenler and Bayrampaşa a ...

, formerly part of Eyüp. In 1972 Tayakadın village of Boyalık county and Yeniköy one of it were passed to Gaziosmapaşa. In 1987 county of Büyükçekmece was separated and become district. Finally in 2009 remainder of Boyalık county was passed to Arnavutköy, was part of Gaziosmanpaşa and Muratbey village was passed to Büyükçekmece.

Population

Geography

Çatalca has 135 kilometers of coastline. Its neighbors include

Tekirdağ Province Tekirdağ Province (, ) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is 6,190 km2, and its population is 1,142,451 (2022). It is located in the East Thrace region of the country, also known as European Turkey, one of only t ...

to the west,

Silivri Silivri, formerly Selymbria (Greek language, Greek: Σηλυμβρία), is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 217,163 (2022). It lies along the Sea of Marmara, outsi ...

to the southwest, Büyükçekmece to the south, and

to the east. Fresh water for Istanbul is provided from by lakes Durusu and Çatalca. Yalıköy is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

of Çatalca. The

Çilingoz Nature Park Çilingoz Nature Park () is a nature park located in Çatalca district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Situated at Binkılıç town of Çatalca, northwest of Istanbul on the Black Sea coast, it covers an area of . It was established in 2011. The r ...

west of Yalıköy offers camping and outdoor recreation activities.

Composition

There are 39

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Çatalca District:Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023. * Akalan * Atatürk * Aydınlar * Bahşayiş * Başak * Belgrat * Çakıl * Çanakça * Celepköy * Çiftlikköy * Dağyenice * Elbasan * Fatih * Ferhatpaşa * Gökçeali * Gümüşpınar * Hallaçlı * Hisarbeyli * İhsaniye * İnceğiz * İzzettin * Kabakça * Kaleiçi * Kalfa * Karacaköy Merkez * Karamandere * Kestanelik * Kızılcaali * Muratbey Merkez * Nakkaş * Oklalı * Örcünlü * Örencik * Ormanlı * Ovayenice * Subaşı * Yalıköy * Yaylacık * Yazlık

Media

At Çatalca, there is a mediumwave broadcasting station with a 226 metres tall mast. It works on 702 kHz with 600 kW.

Cooperation and parthership

Çatalca cooperates with: *

Alanya Alanya (; ), formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort town, resort city, a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. It is on the southern coast of Turkey, in the country's Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean R ...

, Turkey

Gallery

File:Çatalca Mübadele Müzesi Ön Cephe.jpg, Çatalca Exchange Museum Front Facade File:ÇatalcaRailwayStation (3).jpg, Çatalca Railway Station File:Doğu Tarafı... - panoramio.jpg, Beach near Yalıköy Köyü

References

External links

District governor's official website

District municipality's official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalca Populated places in Istanbul Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Districts of Istanbul Province