Belgradkapı
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Belgradkapı is a quarter in
Zeytinburnu Zeytinburnu (literally, ''Olive Cape'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 12 km2, and its population is 292,616 (2022). It is a working-class area on the European side of Istanbul, T ...
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of
Istanbul 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 ...
. Name of the neighborhood means
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
Gate in Turkish, and was named so after the Ottoman sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
conquered Belgrade in 1521, modern capital of
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, and resettled its population to several locations in Istanbul, including the present Belgradkapı area.


Location

Belgradkapı is located on both sides of the Belgrade Gate at the Walls of Istanbul in the European part of the city.


History

After conquering Belgrade in 1521, sultan Suleiman the Magnificent resettled town's population. He relocated several groups to Constantinople itself, in areas which became known as Belgrade Forest and Belgrade Gate (Belgrad Ormanı and Belgradkapı, respectively). Following the usual pattern of the day, ethnic groups were specialized in certain crafts and jobs. Inhabitants of Belgrade Forest worked on maintenance of the freshwater reservoirs in the forest. The water was then transferred via
aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...
to downtown. There are no surviving records on the specialization of the residents of Belgradkapı, but based on the surviving artifacts and memorials from that period, they were probably in the business of
leather crafting Leather crafting or simply leathercraft is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both. Techniques Dyeing The application of pigments carried by solvents or water i ...
. In general, except for few Orthodox churches ("mostly built to be inconspicuous, hidden behind high walls"), there aren't other physical remainders of Belgraders who lived in Istanbul. The subject wasn't much studied by Serbian scientists, especially not since the 1950s, so the fate of Belgrade population is unknown: were all of them assimilated, or some survived and moved back to Serbia after independence in the early 19th century. It also remains unknown why one group was settled outside of the city walls (Belgrade Forest) and other inside (Belgrade Gate).


Characteristics

The main axis of the quarter is the avenue with the same name () that runs between
Yedikule Yedikule (''Seven Towers'') is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Fatih, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 15,789 (2022). It is named after the seven-towered Yedikule Fortress, which surrounds the neighborhood. Urbaniz ...
and Silivrikapı. Recently, many ancient
sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ ...
have been discovered in Belgradkapı, in
archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...
excavations.Meriçboyu, Yıldız, "''İstanbul için şehr-engiz''", Yapı Kredi Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991, p. 43


Church of Theotokos Belgradkapı

The church was designed by Greek architect Hadji Nikolaos and built by Greek masons. The edifice is actually a low house, built from stone. It has neither dome nor bell tower, and is fenced with wall which obstructs view on the church. The church was damaged during the 1955 Istanbul pogrom. The rioting mob broke into the church, setting the building on fire and destroying
iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...
, icons and all relics. The church was slowly renovated in the next 10 years. Some Turkish historians believed that '' ktetor'' was also from Belgrade. They based it, among other, on Slavic Cyrillic inscription on the walls. However, the inscription, and adjoining crosses, are much younger, originated from 1837 and were carved by master Siljan from Vrben, near
Debar Debar ( ; , sq-definite, Dibra or Dibra e Madhe) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ethnic Albanian majorit ...
, in modern
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
. The Debar masters were highly regarded at the time and were hired to ornament Orthodox churches throughout the Balkans. The church was studied in the 19th century by historian Stojan Novaković, who studied the lives of Belgraders in Istanbul. In 1953 it was surveyed by architect Aleksandar Deroko, who searched for medieval icons. Novaković believed that the icons originated from
Metropolitanate of Belgrade The Metropolitanate of Belgrade () was an Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical province (metropolitanate) which existed between 1831 and 1920, with jurisdiction over the territory of Principality and Kingdom of Serbia. It was formed in 1831, when t ...
, when the population was relocated in 1521. The icons had a year 1539 on them, but Novaković believed this was added later. Based on his research, Deroko examined the icons later, but based on their style characteristics, couldn't confirm they predated 1521. Additionally, he contested that, if the icons were brought from Belgrade, there would be no need for the new icons to be made only 18 years later. The science and folk narrative on the origin of icons diverged, but they were destroyed two years after Deroko examined them who, at least, took photos of the interior.


See also

*
Belgrad Forest Belgrad Forest () is a mixed deciduous forest lying adjacent to Istanbul, Turkey. It is named after the village next to the forest, settled by thousands of Serbs who were deported to the capital Constantinople from the city of Belgrade in 1521, w ...
* Gallipoli Serbs


References

Zeytinburnu History of the Serbs Istanbul pogrom {{Istanbul-geo-stub