Arnavutköy ( '

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

village'; ) is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

Istanbul Province Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its population is 3,574 (2022). It is renowned for its wooden Ottoman mansions and seafood restaurants, as well as for the campus of the prestigious

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( or ), often abbreviated as Robert or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational, Education in Turkey#Private schools, private Second ...

with its historic buildings. It is part of the

district of Istanbul, and is located between

Ortaköy Ortaköy (, ''Middle Village)'' is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Beşiktaş, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 9,121 (2024). It is on the European shore of the Bosphorus. it was originally a small fishing villag ...

and Bebek on the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an shoreline of the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

. The existence of a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

in close proximity to one another serves as a reminder of Arnavutköy's past cosmopolitanism. The coast road is usually lined with anglers and small fishing boats frequently pass Arnavutköy; the fresh fish caught is sometimes sold to the local

seafood restaurant A seafood restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in seafood cuisine and seafood dishes, such as fish and shellfish. Dishes may include freshwater fish. The concept may focus upon the preparation and service of fresh seafood, (as opposed to ...

s. At the eastern end of Arnavutköy the coast juts out to form Akıntıburnu (the Cape of the Current) where the waters of the Bosphorus once flowed so powerfully that small boats had to be towed round it, hence its Greek name for the area ("Great Current"). Infrequent

Şehir Hatları Ferries in Istanbul are a Public transport in Istanbul, mode of public transportation within and surrounding the city of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. There are three major ferry operators in the city: the municipally owned Şehir Hatları ("City Li ...

(City Lines) ferries call in at the ferry terminal facing Arnavutköy's main square. Otherwise, the busy coast road is served by regular buses.

History

In antiquity, the area was known as Asomato and ''Anáplus''. In 1468, Sultan

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

brought

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

to the city for pavement construction. He installed them in Arnavutköy, hence the name of the suburb. "Europäische Migranten sind verantwortlich für Ortsnamen wie Arnavutköy («Albanerdorf»)" "Some examples of prominent migrations such as migration of Albanians who were placed in Arnavutköy in 1468" "İlk defa Türkiye'ye Fatih Sultan Mehmet zamanında getirilen Arnavutlar, 1468 senesinde İstanbul’un Arnavutköy semtine yerleştirilmişlerdir. Arnavutköy, 1468 yılında Arnavut göçmenler tarafından oluşturulmuştur. Kültürümüzün temel taşlarından olan semtlere (Arnavutköy, Arnavutkaldırımı)" In 1863,

, the oldest American school outside the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, was established on its current campus which originally stretched from Arnavutköy to the vicinity of Bebek and

Rumelihisarı Rumelihisarı (also known as Rumelian Fortress and Roumeli Hissar Fortress) or Boğazkesen Fortress (literally 'strait-cutter fortress') is a medieval Ottoman Empire, Ottoman fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey, on a series of hills on the Europ ...

. In 1971, a section of this campus became part of

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...

, which was formerly the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

section of the school. The

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

section, formerly named Robert Academy (RA) is still an American school and is located on the Arnavutköy side of the Robert College campus. According to the

Salname A salname (also called ''nevsal'') was an official annal of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. History The first salname was published in 1847. It was prepared by Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Ahmed Cevdet Pasha and Hayrullah. It was sponsored by the ...

for 1912, the district's total population was 7,482, consisting ethnographically of 5,973

Rûm Rūm ( , collective; singulative: ''Rūmī'' ; plural: ''Arwām'' ; ''Rum'' or ''Rumiyān'', singular ''Rumi''; ), ultimately derived from Greek Ῥωμαῖοι ('' Rhomaioi'', literally 'Romans'), is the endonym of the pre-Islamic inhabi ...

s (Christians), 493

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 342

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, 32

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and 642 people of other nationality. During the WWI, the area suffered because of the British bombing of İstanbul. Arnavutköy used to be famous for its Ottoman strawberries, a less juicy and smaller version of the strawberries found throughout the rest of Turkey. A few strawberry fields still survive inland from the coast and every spring local greengrocers are mobbed by strawberry lovers.

Architecture

The waterfront at Arnavutköy is lined with some of the most picturesque late 19th and early 20th-century wooden houses to survive along the Bosphorus, many of them decorated in

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style. While they look very individual, it is thought that most of the decorative elements on the facades were actually mass-produced.

Education

The American Academy for Girls moved to Arnavutköy in 1914, but in 1923 moved to the Bağlarbaşı neighbourhood of

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

on the Asian side of the city where it continues to accept students as the Üsküdar American Academy.

Gallery

File:OldHouseIstanbul_(6).jpg File:Church of Hagia Strati in Arnavutköy Front.jpg File:OldHouseIstanbul_(8).jpg File:Sunset fishermen Arnavutköy.jpg File:OldHouseIstanbul (12).jpg File:Mitchell_Hall,_Robert_College.jpg File:Arnavutköy street 2.jpg File:Arnavutköy_quarter_of_Istanbul_on_the_Bosphorus,_Turkey_002.jpg

References

External links