Levent is a neighbourhood and one of the main business districts of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European side of the city. It is a part of the municipality of

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

and is situated to the north of the Golden Horn, at the western shore of the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

. Levent, together with nearby Maslak, is one of the main business districts on the European side of the city, where numerous

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

projects are currently under construction or in the planning phase. One of the modern skyline clusters of the city is located here, hidden behind the hills of the

and not disturbing the atmosphere of the historical peninsula of Istanbul, which is at quite a distance. The tallest skyscraper in Levent is the 54-floor Istanbul Sapphire,Emporis: Sapphire
/ref> which has a roof height of 238 metres (261 metres including its spire). It was Istanbul's and Turkey's tallest skyscraper between 2010 and 2016 — as of 2020, it is the 4th tallest skyscraper in Istanbul and Turkey, behind ''Metropol Istanbul Tower 1'' (70 floors / 301 metres including its twin spires) in the Ataşehir district on the Asian side of the city; and ''Skyland Istanbul Towers 1 and 2'' (2 x 70 floors / 293 metres), located adjacent to Türk Telekom Stadium in the Seyrantepe quarter of the Sarıyer district, on the European side. The stations Levent and 4. Levent along the M2 line of the Istanbul Metro serve the Levent business district and its surrounding neighbourhoods.

Etymology

View of Levent financial district from Istanbul Sapphire

Levent is also a name for men in Turkey (cf. Levent) that derives from the '' Levend'', a type of soldier (

naval infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

) of the Ottoman Navy.Kıyafet-i Asakir-i Bahriyye: Costumes and ranks of the Ottoman Navy
/ref> ''Levend'' itself has derived from ''Levantino'' ( Levantine) which means ''Person from the Levant (East Mediterranean)'' in Italian.Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, . This was how the Italians (the

Genoese Genoese may refer to: * a person from Genoa * Genoese dialect, a dialect of the Ligurian language * Republic of Genoa (–1805), a former state in Liguria See also * Genovese, a surname * Genovesi, a surname * * * * * Genova (disambiguati ...

and Venetians) used to call the Ottoman sailors, a name which was also adopted by the Ottoman Turks. Sevan Nişanyan. ''Sözlerin Soyağacı: Çağdaş Türkçenin Etimolojik Sözlüğü''. URL: http://www.nisanyansozluk.com/search.asp?w=levent Retrieved 30 October 2009. The use of the word ''levend'' for describing seamen first appeared in the Ottoman Turkish language during the 16th century. These marine soldiers had the reputation of possessing strong, muscular physiques and daring, fearless characters; which is the reason why the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

word ''levent'', its Greek

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

'' levénti'' (λεβέντη) and its Bulgarian cognate ''levént'' (левент) are still popularly used for defining "athletic, gallant, brave" men. The name Levent (''Levend'') came to be applied to the neighbourhood because in 1780 the Ottoman Fleet Admiral Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha was awarded a farmland here by the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid I; and in the early 19th century a military compound was built in the area of this farm.Haldun Hürel. ''Semtleri, Mahalleri, Caddeleri ve Sokakları A'dan Z'ye İstanbul'un Alfabetik Öyküsü''. İkarus, 2008. . Page 220. The nearby İstinye neighbourhood on the European shoreline of the

also featured an important shipyard and dock for maintaining and repairing the military vessels of the Ottoman Navy. However, the Imperial Arsenal (''Tersâne-i Âmire'') and the Naval Ministry (''Bahriye Nezareti'') of the Ottoman Navy were located on the shores of the Golden Horn.

History

In the early 19th century, during the final years of the reign of Sultan

Selim III Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...

, the first military compound of the Nizam-ı Cedid (New Order) Army was built in Levent, which was then known as the ''Levend Çiftliği'' (Levend Farmlands), eventually becoming known as the ''Levend Kışlası'' (Levend Barracks). In 1868, during the first territorial organization of the Istanbul Municipality, Levend (the pronunciation of which was modified as ''Levent'' following the

Turkish language reform Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant smal ...

) was placed within the district of

(which was designated as the ''7th Area'' of the Istanbul Municipality), having remained within this district ever since. The modern neighbourhood of Levent was formed in 1947, when Emlak Kredi Bankası (a Turkish bank which was established to finance housing projects) chose the Levent area for constructing a well-planned residential compound, formed mostly of villa type houses with gardens. After the completion of the first phase of the Levent project in 1960, numerous other residential compounds were constructed in the area, eventually extending towards nearby Etiler. Starting from the late 1980s and early 1990s, with initial projects such as the

Sabancı Center Sabancı Center is a complex of skyscrapers which consists of two skyscrapers located close to the Büyükdere Avenue in Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey. The third one is approved. Current tallest skyscraper of that complex is Akbank Tower ...

, Yapı Kredi Towers, TAT Towers, Metrocity Towers and İş Bankası Towers, Levent became a popular location for constructing new

s, mostly owned by Turkish banks and conglomerates. One of the city's major skyline clusters (together with those of Maslak and Şişli on the European side; and Ataşehir and

Kozyatağı Kozyatağı is a neighbourhood of Kadıköy one of the districts of Istanbul. It is to the East of Göztepe west of Bostancı south of Ataşehir and north of the coastal neighbourhoods. Transport The M4 and the planned M8 metro lines run throu ...

on the Asian side of Istanbul) is located in Levent. At present, Levent hosts the tallest skyscraper of Istanbul and Turkey, the 54-floor Istanbul Sapphire; while the construction of numerous new mixed-use skyscraper projects and shopping malls are ongoing in the neighbourhood, which has evolved into a

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Image gallery

File:Sapphire_building_9010.jpg, Istanbul Sapphire is currently the tallest skyscraper in Levent File:Sapphire building 9017 PANORAMA2B.jpg, Rear facade of Istanbul Sapphire in Levent File:QNB Finansbank Kristal Kule.jpg,

Finansbank QNB Finansbank is a Turkish bank with headquarters in Levent, Istanbul. It was established by leading Turkish banker Hüsnü Özyeğin in 1987 and for a period was the Turkish bank with the largest network of foreign branches. In 2016 the QNB Gr ...

Tower and Istanbul Sapphire on

Büyükdere Avenue Büyükdere Avenue ( tr, Büyükdere Caddesi) is a major avenue which runs through the districts of Şişli (Esentepe quarter), Beşiktaş (Levent quarter) and Sarıyer (Maslak quarter) on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. It begins at Şi ...

File:QNB Finansbank Kristal Kule 2.jpg,

Tower on

File:EAA_Zorlu_Center.jpg, Zorlu Center on

File:Zorlu Center - Istanbul, Turkey, Apple Store 06.jpg, Glass roof of Apple Store at Zorlu Center File:Kanyon Shopping Mall, Istanbul (3 July 2007).jpg, Kanyon Mall on

File:Levent Financial Center.jpg, A view of Levent business district File:Levent Financial Center - Istanbul.jpg, A view of Levent business district File:Levent Financial District.jpg, A view of Levent business district File:Sapphire Building 2652.jpg,

, İşbank and

towers viewed from the roof of Istanbul Sapphire File:Istanbul_Levent_skyline.jpg, View of Levent from Kanlıca Hekimler Sitesi across the Bosporus

References and notes

External links

Emporis: Skyscrapers of Levent financial district
{{coord, 41.08181, 29.01584, type:city, display=title Neighbourhoods of Beşiktaş Istanbul Central Business District