Fikirtepe is a neighborhood (''

mahalle is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. History Historically, mahallas were autonomous social ins ...

'') in the district of

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

, on the

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n side 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 ...

. Fikirtepe is built over one of the oldest settlement areas of Istanbul, dating back to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

. Due to urban transformation, the population of the neighborhood has dropped dramatically recently, with a housing occupancy rate of 28% (as of 2020); current population 12,235 (also as of 2020). The neighborhood is bordered on the east by the Kadıköy neighborhood of Dumlupınar, on the south by the Kadıköy neighborhood of Eğitim, and on the northwest and north by the Kuşdili Stream and the Kadıköy neighborhood of Hasanpaşa. Fikirtepe is divided by the O-1 Highway, which runs southwest to northeast through the neighborhood.

Name

''Fikirtepe'' literally means "Idea Hill" (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

: '' fikir'' + '' tepe'') and has been in use since at least 1786. According to popular legend, the name comes from a

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

named Fikir Baba.

Namık Kemal Namık Kemal (, ; ; 21 December 1840 – 2 December 1888) was an Ottoman writer, poet, democrat, intellectual, reformer, journalist, playwright, and political activist who was influential in the formation of the Young Ottomans and their stru ...

used a variation of the legend in speaking of the intellectual meetings held by

Young Ottomans The Young Ottomans (; ) were a secret society established in 1865 by a group of Ottoman intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the '' Tanzimat'' reforms in the Ottoman Empire, which they believed did not go far enough. The Young Ottomans soug ...

at the mansion of Crown Prince Murat: "A

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

is said to have lived in this neighborhood centuries ago. ... His name was Fikir Dede ... so people called the area ''Fikirdede'' or ''Fikir'in Tepesi'' (Fikir's Hill). ... For a long time we have been putting forward new ideas on this hill. ... Let us call this place ''Fikirtepesi'' (Idea Hill)."

History

The Fikirtepe area was home to a

settlement that was part of the Fikirtepe Culture. The Fikirtepe Mound ('' höyük'') was once located in the nearby Eğitim neighborhood, but has since been built over. No settlements are known from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Until the 1950s, the only building was an Ottoman hunting lodge, with the rest of the area consisting of pastures and meadows. In the 1950s, many people from rural Turkey began migrating to Istanbul and building shanties (''

gecekondu , meaning 'put up overnight' (plural ), is a Turkish language, Turkish word meaning a house put up quickly illegal building, without proper permissions, a Squatting, squatter's house, and by extension, a shanty or shack. is a neighborhood made o ...

'') in the area. Because of the rapid development, a

muhtar Muhtar also spelled "Mihtar" or "Mitar" is a given name and a surname. Notable persons with that name include: Persons with the given name * Muhtar Kent (born 1952), Turkish American businessman * Ahmet Muhtar Merter (died 1959), Turkish freedom ...

affiliated with Kadıköy District was appointed in 1965. In 1975, the area was divided into three neighborhoods: Fikirtepe, Dumlupınar, and Eğitim. In the 1980s, municipal services such as roads, water lines, and electricity were brought to the area, and many of the shanties were demolished and replaced with multistory concrete apartment buildings.

References

Neighbourhoods of Kadıköy Turkey Neighbourhoods of Istanbul {{improve categories, date=February 2025