Belgrad Forest ( tr, Belgrad Ormanı) is a mixed
deciduous forest
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
lying adjacent to
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 ...
. It is named after the village next to the forest, settled by thousands of
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
who were deported to the capital
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
from the city of
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
in 1521, when
it fell to the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
. Geographically, the forest is located at the easternmost point of the
Thracian Peninsula. Forest terrain is divided between
Sarıyer
Sarıyer () is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Rumelifeneri, Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan and Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black Sea c ...
and
Eyüp
Eyüp () or Eyüpsultan is a district of the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The district extends from the Golden Horn all the way to the shore of the Black Sea. Eyüp is also the name of a prominent neighborhood and former village in the district, lo ...
districts. Several historical
reservoirs
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...
lie within the forest.
History
The Thracian village of Belgrad (from which the forest takes its name) was named after the thousands of
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
that
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
had transferred to Thrace after the
1521 Siege of Belgrade.
Size and composition of the forest
![Marsh-Belgrad-Forest2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Marsh-Belgrad-Forest2.jpg)
With a region around 5,500
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...
of forest it houses many plant, bird and animal species. The most common tree in the forest is
sessile oak
''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...
(''Quercus petraea''). Belgrad Forest is under protection and is one of the most visited recreational areas of Istanbul. The building of the western section of the motorway running over the
3rd Bosphorus bridge (opened 2016) which runs through the northern part of the forest, the expansion of Istanbul (
Maslak
Maslak is one of the main business districts of Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European side of the city. It was formerly an exclave of the municipality of Şişli, though being far north and actually closer to the municipalities ...
etc. ), the settlements which surround the forest, and new roads question the practical effect of the protection.
Aqueducts
Instead of finding many
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
remains of aqueducts, there are mainly only Ottoman dams remaining, which were all built over a period of 150 years. The
Valens Aqueduct
The Aqueduct of Valens ( tr, Valens Su Kemeri, grc, Ἀγωγὸς τοῦ ὕδατος, translit=Agōgós tou hýdatos, lit=aqueduct) was a Roman aqueduct system built in the late 4th century AD, to supply Constantinople – the capital of the ...
that straddles busy Atatürk Bulvarı as it runs uphill from the Golden Horn is the largest of the monuments commemorating the complex system needed to bring the water into the city during the 16th-18th centuries.
In the forest there were two separate channeling systems. The older of the two was the Kırkçeşme system that directed water into town Eğrikapı hard against the city walls. Many of the aqueducts and reservoirs that supported this system were originally built in Roman and Byzantine times, but in the 16th century Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned the Ottoman architect Sinan to upgrade it all for the new aqueduct system that would lead into his city. The result was a series of magnificent aqueducts that criss-cross the roads near Kemerburgaz. The Maǧlova Aqueduct is the largest, with its exceptional architecture, strength and structure, and with a little effort is accessible to the public from both ends and can be safely walked through on its lower level. The Kemerburgaz aqueduct can be similarly traversed. The newly restored Uzunkemer still stands right across a busy road in the forest (not traversable).
As the population of İstanbul grew, the water supply system also had to be expanded to cope with the increasing numbers of people living in the city, which resulted in a second supply line; the Taksim system. Most of its aqueducts and reservoirs were built in the 18th century well after the reconstruction that took place earlier in the 16th century. The most noticeable monument is the Mahmud I Kemer, erected in 1732, that stands right beside the road in Bahçeköy. The Taksim system ended at the large reservoir in Taksim Square that now acts as a small art gallery used for tourism.
Crime
In 2018, Turkish police stated that
Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (; ar, جمال أحمد خاشقجي, Jamāl ʾAḥmad Ḵāšuqjī, ; 13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a ge ...
was murdered and dumped in this forest. He had gone to visit the Saudi consulate in Istanbul but there was no CCTV of him walking away from the consulate.
Recreation and tourism
Walking, Jogging & Hiking: One of the most popular activities to do in the Belgrad Forest besides looking at the beautiful trees and enjoying nature is the fact that you can easily jog and hike through the trails. There is a jogging track that begins at a fountain by the Neset Suyu (Neset Spring) and weaves a 6 ½ km route with exercise equipment stationed along the way for public use, and the Istanbul Hash House Harriers often runs through this trail. There are many paths and tracks running through the Forest outside of the main recreational areas and a walker can pass hours in the Forest rarely meeting anyone else. The main complication is that there is no available map (satellite maps are useful for showing roads and the wider tracks but not for showing paths and fences) showing the paths and tracks - they have to be discovered. There are also some fenced-off areas and roads running through the Forest which can make finding a good walking route trickier. If going deeper into the Forest, a compass is recommended. A GPS device such as a smartphone is also very useful. The Forest is only mildly hilly and in many places can be walked through even where there is no path or track. The easiest place to start exploring the Forest is the small town of Bahçeköy which is almost in the middle of the Forest. Bahçeköy is well served by public buses. Most of the Ottoman dams and reservoirs are easily reachable from Bahçeköy.
Atatürk Arboretum: To see the forest’s foliage during the changing seasons, the best place to visit is the
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
in the area, which is open during weekdays. In the facility, there is more than 2,000 plant species. The main attraction in the gardens is in the autumn when the collection of oak trees from all around the world can be viewed. As of 2016 the Arboretum is open every day except Mondays and entry is 5TL for students and 15TL for everyone else. The entrance is about a 20 minutes walk from the centre of Bahçeköy. A visit can easily take a couple of hours. Food (not water) is confiscated at the entrance but returned on leaving.
Eating & Drinking: One of the most common things for locals and travelers to do in Istanbul is to take a trip to the Belgrad Forest on the weekend to escape from the heat in the spring and summer months. There are areas specifically for recreation and travelers are even allowed to use portable barbecues to enjoy with friends and family. There are seven main picnic areas in the Forest; the most popular destination is Büyük Bent. This area has its own cafe where you are able to bring your own food and cook on the long wooden tables; drinks and snacks are sold on-site. If you are planning on cooking your own BBQ, it is suggested that you pay attention and use caution as firefighting facilities are not well prepared to deal with forest fires in the area.
[My Merhab]
October 1, 2006 There are also a few other cafes scattered around the forest, making the area metropolis in some areas, however, most of the areas in the forest consist of wildlife.
Nature parks
There are nine
nature park
A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...
s in the Belgrad Forest:
See also
*
Bulgaria (theme)
The Theme of Bulgaria () was a province of the Byzantine Empire established by Emperor Basil II after the conquest of Bulgaria in 1018. Its capital was Scupi (or Skoupoi) and it was governed by a strategos. The local inhabitants were ''Bulgaria ...
*
Great Bulgarian Forest
Great Bulgarian Forest (latin: ''Silva Magna Bulgarica'' or ''Silvas Bulgarorum'') was the territory between Belgrade and the Gate of Trajan, entering Via Militaris in Thrace. In the Middle Ages this territory was afforested with inaccessible for ...
References
{{Authority control
Forests of Turkey
Sarıyer
Eyüp
Tourist attractions in Istanbul
Geography of Istanbul Province