Polonezköy Nature Park ( tr, Polonezköy Tabiat Parkı) is a

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 ...

in the village of

Polonezköy Polonezköy or Adampol is a village, administratively a neighborhood, on the Asian side of Istanbul, about from the historic city centre, within the boundaries of the Beykoz district. It was inspired and funded by Prince Adam Jerzy Czarto ...

in Istanbul, Turkey. Polonezköy is situated in the Beykoz district of Istanbul Province. The area was declared a

by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1994. It covers an area of about . It is the province's first, and in terms of area, largest, nature park. The protected area is named after the village of

, which was settled in 1842 by a small group of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

emigrants, after the failed

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

. The settlement was initially named "Adamköy" or "Adampol" (literally Adamville) in honor of Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, and was renamed later to "Polonez Karyesi". In 1923, it was changed to its current official name. The nature park offers many outdoor recreational activities such as picnicking, camping, trekking and

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

. There is a -long hiking, cycling, and jogging course, as well as observation towers. There are also a number of restaurants. Lodging is available in a number of boarding houses and hotels in the village.

Ecosystem

Flora

The nature park has a very rich variety of vegetation. Common plants include black pine (''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as wel ...

''), Turkish pine ('' Pinus brutia''), Scots pine (''Pinus sylvestris''), pedunculate oak ('' Quercus robur''), sessile oak ('' Quercus petraea''), Turkey oak ('' Quercus cerris''), Hungarian oak (''

Quercus frainetto ''Quercus frainetto'' (syn. ''Quercus conferta'' Kit., ''Quercus farnetto'' Ten.), commonly known as the Hungarian oak or Italian oak, is a species of oak, native to southeastern Europe (parts of Italy, the Balkans, parts of Hungary, Romania) and ...

''), horse-chestnut (''

Aesculus hippocastanum ''Aesculus hippocastanum'', the horse chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the maple, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree. It is also called horse-chestnut, Europ ...

''), sweet chestnut ('' Castanea sativa''), Norway spruce ('' Picea abies''), oriental plane ('' Platanus orientalis''), Mediterranean cypress (''

Cupressus sempervirens ''Cupressus sempervirens'', the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Persian cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southern Albania, sou ...

''), common hornbeam (''

Carpinus betulus ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, ...

''), Scots elm ('' Ulmus glabra''), alder (''Alnus orientalis''), oriental beech (''

Fagus orientalis ''Fagus orientalis'', commonly known as the Oriental beech, is a deciduous tree in the beech family Fagaceae. It is native to Eurasia, in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Description ''Fagus orientalis'' is a large tree, capable of reaching he ...

''), silver linden ('' Tilia tomentosa''), oriental arborvitae (''

Platycladus orientalis ''Platycladus'' is a monotypic genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, ''Platycladus orientalis'', also known as Chinese thuja, Oriental arborvitae, Chinese arborvitae, biota or Orien ...

''), Smilax (''Smilax excelsa''), bay laurel ('' Laurus nobilis''), strawberry tree ('' Arbutus unedo''), common laurel (''

Laurocerasus officinalis ''Prunus laurocerasus'', also known as cherry laurel, common laurel and sometimes English laurel in North America, is an evergreen species of cherry (''Prunus''), native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia and southeastern Eu ...

''), cotoneaster (''

Cotoneaster horizontalis ''Cotoneaster horizontalis'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Cotoneaster'' of the family Rosaceae. Description ''Cotoneaster horizontalis'' is a short shrub with a spreading habit, growing to tall by wide. It is cultivated for ...

''), common hawthorn ('' Crataegus monogyna''), scarlet firethorn (''

Pyracantha coccinea ''Pyracantha coccinea'', the scarlet firethorn is the European species of firethorn or red firethorn that has been cultivated in gardens since the late 16th century. The tree has small white flowers. It produces small, bright red berries. Its leav ...

''), giant heather ('' Erica arborea'') and guelder-rose ('' Viburnum opulus'').

Fauna

There is a pheasant farm and a deer farm inside the nature park. Wild animals observed in the protected area include mammals like red deer, roe deer, wild boars, jackals, squirrels, martens, weasels, and the bird species of pheasant, partridge,

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

, buzzard, falcon,

eurasian blackbird The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not ...

, European goldfinch, common wood pigeon, owl,

magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

and

sparrow Sparrow may refer to: Birds * Old World sparrows, family Passeridae * New World sparrows, family Passerellidae * two species in the Passerine family Estrildidae: ** Java sparrow ** Timor sparrow * Hedge sparrow, also known as the dunnock or hedg ...

References

{{commons category, Polonezköy Nature Park Nature parks in Turkey Protected areas established in 1994 1994 establishments in Turkey Parks in Istanbul Tourist attractions in Istanbul Province Beykoz