Selimiye is neighbourhood in the municipality and district of

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...

, Istanbul Province,

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 ...

. Its population is 8,499 (2022). It is on the Asian side 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 takes its name from Sultan Selim III who commissioned a barracks here that led to the creation of a new neighbourhood in its vicinity.

History

The

Selimiye Barracks Selimiye Barracks ( tr, Selimiye Kışlası), also known as Scutari Barracks, is a Turkish Army barracks located in the Üsküdar district on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. It was originally built in 1800 by Sultan Selim III for the soldier ...

was established in 1800 by the Ottoman 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 ...

for his newly reformed military forces, the Nizâm-ı Cedîd. Its establishment led to the development of the Selimiye neighbourhood as Turkey's first formally planned neighbourhood. Centrepiece is the magnificent Ottoman baroque Selimiye Mosque built in 1801 for the soldiers in the nearby barracks. Sultan Selim's barracks quickly burnt down and were recommissioned in stone by Sultan Mahmud II in 1825. The original barracks only had a single wing but during the reign of

Sultan Abdülmecid Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the r ...

the Turkish-Armenian architect

Krikor Balyan The Balyan family ( hy, Պալեաններ; tr, Balyan ailesi or ''Palyan ailesi'') was a prominent Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire consisting of court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and other members of the Ottoman dynast ...

added another three wings, thereby creating a central parade ground. The Selimiye Barracks served as a hospital during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

of 1853-56 and it was here that

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...

('the Lady with the Lamp') struggled to save lives by improving standards of hygiene. There is a small museum in her memory within the barracks even though they are still used by the Turkish army. In 1802 the Üsküdar

printing house In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. Printers can include: *Newspaper printers, often owned by newspaper publishers *Magazine printers, usually independe ...

was founded and went on to play an important role in the history of Turkish science. Industrial facilities were soon established in this area and Selimiye became one of the most crowded neighbourhoods of Üsküdar by the middle of the 19th century. In 2022 the old

hamam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...

that formed part of the barracks-mosque complex was restored and converted into a restaurant and library in the small Nevmekan chain.

Historical places

* Selimiye Mosque *

References

External links

Official Website of Üskudar Municipality (in English)
Neighbourhoods of Üsküdar {{Istanbul-geo-stub