Çukurcuma (pronounced chu-KUR-ju-ma; meaning "Friday Valley" in Turkish) is a district of

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (, ota, بك‌اوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...

(in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

), made up of the Kuloğlu and Firuzağa neighbourhoods. It lies south-east of

İstiklal Caddesi İstiklal it means " Independence " it is a national Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. İstiklal is a local newspaper founded in 1974. andThe publishing center of the newspaper is located in Zeytinburnu Zeytinburnu (literall ...

in a valley, not far from

Galatasaray Square Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

and between the

Tomtom TomTom N.V. is a Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom released its first generation of satellite navigation devices to market in 2004. ...

and

Cihangir Cihangir is a neighborhood in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, between Taksim Square and Kabataş. It has many narrow streets, two parks, and many street cafes especially in and around Akarsu Yokuşu Sokağı. The neighbourhood ha ...

neighbourhoods. The main thoroughfare is

Çukurcuma Caddesi Çukurcuma (pronounced chu-KUR-ju-ma; meaning "Friday Valley" in Turkish) is a district of Beyoğlu (in Istanbul, Turkey), made up of the Kuloğlu and Firuzağa neighbourhoods. It lies south-east of İstiklal Caddesi in a valley, not far from Ga ...

. The buildings largely date from the 19th century, although there has also been a lot of 20th-century development. Çukurcuma is full of antique shops and cafés and has a rather European character. The constituency tends to vote for the CHP. ''In 2008

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' devoted an article to Çukurcuma. In 2012, the newspaper described it as one of the five best places to live worldwide.

History

The area of today's Çukurcuma was not inhabited in the Byzantine period. During the Conquest of Constantinople (1453), Sultan

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

is said to have initiated

Friday prayer In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...

in the valley, giving rise to its name. The Muhittin Molla Fenari Mosque is said to date from Mehmed's reign. Originally built between 1541 and 1547 to a design of the Ottoman architect

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan ( ota, معمار سينان, translit=Mi'mâr Sinân, , ) ( 1488–1490 – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empir ...

, it was commissioned for the Shaikh al-Islam Çivizade Hacı Mehmed Efendi. In the 19th century, Çukurcuma expanded as a residential district. In addition to ethnic Turks,

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

and Western Europeans lived here and established schools, hospitals and diplomatic missions. In 1882 th
Liceo Italiano Galileo Galilei
joined the Greek Zografeion-Lyceum high school. The Greek

Consulate General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

also occupies a building in the neighbourhood. The 1955 Istanbul pogrom hit Çukurcuma hard, and almost all the remaining Turkish Greeks and Armenians subsequently emigrated. In 2008,

Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over thirteen million books in sixty-three lan ...

published his book ''

The Museum of Innocence ''The Museum of Innocence'' ( tr, ) is a novel by Orhan Pamuk, Nobel-laureate Turkish novelist published on August 29, 2008. The book, set in Istanbul between 1975 and 1984, is an account of the love story between the wealthy businessman Kemal ...

'', much of it set in Çukurcuma. In 2012, Pamuk opened an actual Museum of Innocence in a wooden house in a Çukurcuma back street. It was recognized as European Museum of the Year in 2014.

References

{{WikidataCoord, Q6079589 Beyoğlu Istanbul pogrom