Ortaköy ( ''Middle Village)'' is a neighbourhood within the
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, ...
district of
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, on the
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an 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 ...
. it was originally a small fishing village, known in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
as Agios Fokas (Άγιος Φωκάς) in the
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 ...
period and then as Mesachorion (Μεσαχώριον, meaning 'Middle Village').
During the
Ottoman era and into the first decades of the Turkish Republic, Ortaköy was a cosmopolitan place with communities of
Turks,
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, ot ...
,
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 ...
and
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s. Today although the neighbourhood still retains a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
synagogue and
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
church, it is almost entirely Turkish and Muslim. It is a popular tourist area, with small art galleries, expensive nightclubs, cafés, bars, and restaurants.
There are several good educational establishments, such as
Kabataş Erkek Lisesi Kabataş may refer to:
* Kabataş, Beyoğlu, a quarter in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey
** Kabataş (Istanbul Metro), a funicular railway station
* Kabataş, Çine, a village in Aydın Province, Turkey
* Kabataş, Kemaliye, a village in Erz ...
and
Galatasaray University, in Ortaköy.
Ortaköy is not served by any trams or Metro stations. Although many buses run along the coastal road and pass through it, it is a notorious traffic bottleneck, especially at weekends.
History
Ortaköy had an important role in the daily life of the city during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. In the 16th century, the Ottoman Sultan
Süleyman 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� ...
encouraged Turks to move to Ortaköy, thereby beginning the Turkish presence in what had been a largely Greek neighbourhood. One of the oldest buildings in Ortaköy is the hamam (Turkish bath) that was built by the famous Ottoman architect
Mimar Sinan in 1556 (this is no longer in use).
During the 19th century the British writer
Emilia Hornby rented a house in Ortaköy and left a vivid description of life there in her ''Constantinople During the Crimean War'', published in 1863.
After the establishment of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in 1948, most of the Jewish population emigrated. The
riots of 1955 caused many members of Ortaköy's
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Armenian communities to leave as well. There are very few non-Muslims left today.
The German architect
Bruno Taut
Bruno Julius Florian Taut (4 May 1880 – 24 December 1938) was a renowned German architect, urban planner and author of Prussian Lithuanian heritage ("taut" means "nation" in Lithuanian). He was active during the Weimar period and is kno ...
lived in a hillside house above Ortaköy that combined Japanese and European architectural styles to reflect his life in exile.
George W. Bush gave a speech in Ortaköy at the
Galatasaray University during the
2004 NATO Summit.
Terrorism
On 1 January 2017, Ortaköy was the scene of a deadly
terrorist attack
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
at the Reina nightclub, where hundreds of people were celebrating the New Year. Thirty-nine people lost their lives. The club was closed down and demolished in May 2017.
Attractions
Ortaköy Mosque is a particularly beautiful
Neo-Baroque structure right beside the Bosphorus and visible from passing boats.The first version of the mosque was built in the 18th century but the current mosque, commissioned by Sultan
Abdülmecid I and designed by architects (father and son)
Garabet Amira Balyan and
Nigoğayos Balyan in
Neo-Baroque style, was built between 1854 and 1856.
The mosque is very close to the European pylon of the
Bosphorus Bridge (now officially renamed the
15 July Martyrs Bridge), one of the three bridges that connect the European and Asian banks of İstanbul.
The
Esma Sultan Mansion
The Esma Sultan Mansion ( tr, Esma Sultan Yalısı), a historical yalı located on the Bosphorus in the Ortaköy neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey and named after its original owner Princess Esma Sultan, is used today as a cultural center afte ...
(1875) also stands near the
Bosphorus Bridge. An Ottoman-era
yalı
A yalı ( tr, yalı, from Greek ''yialí'' (mod. ''yialós''), literally "seashore, beach") is a house or mansion built right on the waterside (almost exclusively seaside, particularly on the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul) and usually built with ...
presented to
Esma Sultan as a wedding gift by her father
Sultan Abdülaziz
Abdulaziz ( ota, عبد العزيز, ʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; tr, Abdülaziz; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a ...
, it was badly damaged by a fire in 1975. then renovated in the 1990s by The Marmara Hotels group. In 2001 it opened as a multipurpose event venue. The exterior of the burnt historic building was left untouched, creating an interesting contrast with its modern interior.
Çıragan Palace
In 1871, Sultan
Abdülaziz
Abdulaziz ( ota, عبد العزيز, ʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; tr, Abdülaziz; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a ...
built the
Çırağan Palace which stands beside the Bosphorus between
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 Ortaköy. The sultan lived in the palace for some time and it was later used as a place of imprisonment for other members of the imperial family. Later the Palace was used to house the Ottoman Parliament until it was badly damaged by a fire in 1910. Repaired and restored in the 1980s, it is now the
Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul Hotel, one of
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
's most luxurious
hotels.
Sports
The local sports club is
Ortaköy Spor Kulübü.
See also
*
Emirgan
Emirgan is a leafy, middle-class suburb of Istanbul, Turkey, on the western shore of the Bosphorus in the Sarıyer district north of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (Second Bosphorus Bridge).
The name commemorates a friendship that eventually turn ...
*
Rumelihisarı
Rumelihisarı (also known as Rumelian Castle and Roumeli Hissar Castle) or Boğazkesen Castle (meaning "Strait-Blocker Castle" or literally "Throat-Cutter Castle") is a medieval fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey, on a series of hills on the Eu ...
References and notes
AksarayOrtaköy Belediyesi
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortakoy
Neighbourhoods of Beşiktaş
Bosphorus
Restaurant districts and streets in Turkey
Entertainment districts in Turkey