Karşıyaka () is a municipality and

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 ...

İzmir Province İzmir Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in to ...

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 area is 51 km², and its population is 346,264 (2022). The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the

Gulf of İzmir The Gulf of İzmir (), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent anchorage. The city of İz ...

. Its centre is at a distance of to the north from the traditional centre of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, which is

Konak Square Konak Square () is a busy square at the southern end of Atatürk Avenue in the Konak district of İzmir, Turkey. The square is named after the '' Vali Konağı'' (Governor's Mansion) of İzmir Province, which is located here ('' konak'' means ' ...

in Konak at the opposite coast. Karşıyaka's district area neighbours the district areas of

Menemen Menemen () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 573 km2, and its population is 200,904 (2022). The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent distric ...

to the north,

Bornova Bornova is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 220 km2, and its population is 454,470 (2022). It is the third largest district in İzmir's metropolitan area and is almost fully urbanized at ...

to the east and

Çiğli Çiğli is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 139 km2, and its population is 214,065 (2022). It covers the northwestern part of the agglomeration of İzmir, around the mouth of the river ...

to the west. Besides being an active venue of commerce, culture and educational activities and tourism, Karşıyaka also has an

urban culture Urban culture is the culture of towns and cities. The defining theme is the presence of a large population in a limited space that follows social norms. This makes it possible for many subcultures close to each other, exposed to social influence ...

centred on the sports club

Karşıyaka SK Karşıyaka () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 51 km2, and its population is 346,264 (2022). The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of ...

, which commands a large and passionate fan base.

Geology

Late created formations around

consist of sandstone, shale and limestone blocks some of which may be larger than several kilometers. Such formations which are generally observed on hills around the region, are the main reasons for resistance on the hills. In addition to these, the community of neogen age can easily be estimated through the andesitic compounds of volcanic origin, around Mount Yamanlar. Such units can be listed as silicon, aluminum, sodium, lava with magnesium content, tuff and tuff stuffed lava agglomerates. The lava also contains reddish brown and greenish gray large feldspar crystals. Neogen sedimentary rocks are made up of clay stone, sandstone and pebble stones at dept while being made up only of limestone on the top. At some places clay stone is observed on limestone layers. It is possible to say that ground resistance is satisfactory in regions covered with limestone on top, while ground resistance is low in regions which has thin layers of limestone intercalated with mud rocks.

Climate and environment

Karşıyaka bears the general characteristics of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

climate zone. It is rainy in winter and hot in summer. As it is the case for İzmir's entire coastline, Karşıyaka benefits on a daily basis from the north-west wind called "imbat", because of which ships in the Gulf of İzmir will always be anchored in a northwest–southeast position, and which cools the city during summer days.

Location

The industrial zone bringing together principally firms of local-scale, exception made of the notable presence of Alaybey shipyard are located in the eastern part of Karşıyaka. The same eastern corner also covers a zone of sparse settlement around the locality called Soğukkuyu, originally a seaside village of semi-nomadic Turkmens ( Yörüks) made to settle here in the 19th century, and to the north is a large forest area. Karşıyaka's centre is connected to İzmir's centre by a busy schedule of railways, roads, and commuter ferries, works for the extension of İzmir's underground line to Karşıyaka currently being carried out at a rapid pace, and there are also good road links to Menemen and

Aliağa Aliağa () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 379 km2, and its population is 104,828 (2022). The town is situated at about north of İzmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its e ...

to the north, to reach

Çanakkale Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District.Karşıyaka S.K. is the sports club of Karşıyaka. It is also called "KSK", and locally as ''Kaf Sin Kaf'', following the initials in

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

since the club's past dates back to Ottoman times. The club has a large and very passionate fan base. Karşıyaka supporters like to call the club "The 35 and a half", to differentiate themselves from İzmir that license plate number is 35. Although its football team is presently in the fourth level of the

Turkish football league system The Turkish football system is divided into the following leagues. Men Süper Lig Süper Lig is the highest level in the Turkish football league system and is operated by the TFF. Other professional divisions TFF 1. Lig, is the second ...

mainly due to financial problems that the club has faced over recent years, Karşıyaka S.K.'s

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

branches, known respectively as

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While th ...

(by the name of their sponsors) and

Karşıyaka Women's Volleyball Team Karşıyaka () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 51 km2, and its population is 346,264 (2022). The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of ...

, are leading contenders in their fields. Pınar Karşıyaka has won twice

Turkish League 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 ...

, twice Turkish President's Cup and a

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

. Karşıyaka have a fierce rivalry with Göztepe.

Economy

Karşıyaka is deeply associated with commerce, construction of residences, education and literature, and is a prized area for pensioners, not only in the scale of İzmir but also from across Turkey as a whole. A total of 220,000 residences make up the urban area and the average yearly increase of the district population is 2.3 per cent. The district area having been almost entirely built up, Karşıyaka today acts principally as a residential centre for the workforce of İzmir's industry and services, who generally commute for work to neighbouring

and

Alsancak Alsancak is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Konak, İzmir, Konak, İzmir Province, Turkey. Its population is 5,581 (2022). It is part of the historic center of the city of İzmir. Overview As a notional zone, Alsancak extends ...

across the gulf, or even to locations further afield like

Kemalpaşa Kemalpaşa is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 681 km2, and its population is 114,250 (2022). Kemalpaşa town is from the historical and traditional center of İzmir, (Konak, İzmir, Ko ...

and

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

. The share of agriculture and industry in its economy is in constant decrease, while Karşıyaka's tourism potential remains an open field. The waterfront is the wealthier part of Karşıyaka and it is here that residents of long date are generally concentrated. The neighbourhoods located along the slopes are poorer, with

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

-type residences in parts, and these continue receiving flows of immigration, especially from Turkey's

Eastern Anatolia Region The Eastern Anatolia region () is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in th ...

. The district counts a total of 11,570 enterprises, 207 of which are identified as industrial firms, and 3,180 categorised under commerce. Nine industrial companies have full or partial foreign capital and 143 commercial establishments in Karşıyaka are registered exporters. There are eighteen banks providing services through 61 branches in Karşıyaka, and a handful of hotels with a total bed capacity of 180. There is one teacher for 24 students and one doctor for 1,127 patients overall. The literacy rate is very high at 92 per cent. An environment of urban consciousness also favoured the foundation of a high number of professional organisations in varied fields in Karşıyaka, ranging from trade (such as KASİAD, BESİAD, BOGİAD) to education, usually centred on teachers or alumni of the district's rooted institutions.

History and sights of interest

Traces of the earliest phases of the timeline of İzmir, such as "The Tomb of

Tantalus Tantalus ( ), also called Atys, was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: for either revealing many secrets of the gods, for stealing ambrosia from them, or for trying to trick them into eating his son, he ...

" and " Old Smyrna" are located at a stone's throw from Karşıyaka, in the very recently constituted metropolitan district of

Bayraklı Bayraklı is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 30 km2, and its population is 299,859 (2024). It covers the northern part of the metropolitan area of İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and tow ...

, which was formerly within the boundaries of the district of Karşıyaka. Karşıyaka was described in frequent terms of admiration by travellers who visited İzmir, and they could not help but mention in detail the dense forests of Mount Yamanlar, reaching as far as the coast, and the gardens and orchards which garnish the shoreline and along the beds of its four streams, namely Ahırkuyu, Serinkuyu, Laka and Bornova. Named Karşıyaka (''literally "the opposite shore"'') in Turkish since the 11th century, the locality was alternatively called ''Cordelio'' or ''Cordelieu'' or ''Kordelio (Κορδελιό)'' in European or

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

sources until the beginning of the 20th century. These names were supposed to make reference to

Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

(''Coeur de Lion''), who is not attested to have come to these waters in person, but it was usually claimed that the area was named in the 1190s by a contingent of

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

of the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

who was accosted here and had named it in honour of

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 ...

's most famed soldier of the time. This explanation of the name is disputed, some sources taking as point of departure the mention of the name (''in the form "Kordeleon"'') in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

documents of the 14th century and questioning whether the name Cordelio is the continuation of a more ancient settlement yet unexplored, as is most of ancient Aeolia. Sthelen 2

Still very leafy and lush generally despite intensive construction of medium- to high-rise apartments and office buildings in recent decades, Karşıyaka grew in size after the entry into service of İzmir-Menemen railroad in 1865, and the start of urban ferry services in 1874 by a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

company under an Ottoman imperial lease accorded by

Abdülhamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a period of decline wit ...

and named "Hamidiye" for this reason. A second shipping company put two other ferries in service starting 1880, followed in 1884 by a third company. Very rapidly, it became fashionable for European and

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

ine inhabitants of İzmir, concentrated in Bornova and

Buca Buca (, ) is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 178 km2, and its population is 522,404 (2022). It is the biggest district of İzmir Province as terms of population. It covers the southeastern part of the agglom ...

until then, to build or purchase houses in Karşıyaka particularly for the dowry of their daughters, which contributed to the growing popularity among the rich of the gulf's northern shores. In pace with its resort-like atmosphere, Karşıyaka saw a number of Ottoman konaks or Levantine mansions erected within its boundaries, especially along the shoreline and serving as secondary residence. Luxury multi-storey residences at immediate seaside quickly rose next to modest inner quartiers around the train station where the working class was concentrated and the Turkish village of Soğukkuyu The commuting movements and the way of life of İzmir's inhabitants were profoundly changed since then with Karşıyaka becoming part of the urban fabric. By the time of the 1891 census, Karşıyaka had already acquired the appearance of a large township with 832 houses and a permanent population of 1080. A sizable Turkish population settled in Karşıyaka's Soğukkuyu some time before that date and that area is still distinguished by its rustic houses in the middle of the urban zone. In the meantime, the former village of Papa Scala or Papazkale or Papazköyü or Papaz İskelesi (''Priest's quay'') to the west came to be known as Bostanlı, in reference to

melons A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to '' Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the ...

and

watermelons The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is widely cultivated worldwide, with more than 1,000 ...

from Menemen which were discharged and loaded on ships here. The four most important reminders of the Levantine heritage still intact in Karşıyaka are the Alliotti, Penetti, Van Der Zee, and Löhner houses. The first was built by a prominent Levantine family of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

origins in 1914 and was exchanged in the 1920s against property belonging to Durmuş Yaşar, the founder of Yaşar Holding. The mansion is known today under Yaşar's name and serves as a vocational training centre. The last two have recently been restored; the first floor of the Van Der Zee mansion has been put to public use by the municipality in the form of a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

(''Eski Ev Cafe''). Monument of Grenadier-Sergeant Ali

There is also a 1904-built

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Church ( Saint Helen church) that served a community of about 200 families and which is recently restored. Edouard Balladur, the former

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

, notably, was baptised there. There are also more modest but still lovely little houses, characterised by their engaged front doors and narrow lines, termed as " Sakız houses", and which are highly typical of the region surrounding İzmir. Karşıyaka is also where

Zübeyde Hanım Zübeyde Hanım (1857 – 15 January 1923) was the mother of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. She was the only daughter of the Hacısofular family which included her two brothers. Zübeyde was born in Langaza vil ...

, Atatürk's mother, spent her last days in end-1922 and January 1923, and is where she is buried. The house she died, which belonged to the family of Latife Uşşaki, Mustafa Kemal Pasha's wife, is restored and it is located right in the centre of the urban zone, near the main commercial street, Karşıyaka's famous ''Çarşı''. Atatürk's feelings and words about Karşıyaka: İzmir‘in Karşıyakalıları ... Sizi derin muhabbetle selamlarım ... Ben bütün İzmir’i ve bütün İzmirlileri severim. Güzel İzmir’in temiz kalpli insanlarının da beni sevdiklerine eminim. Yanlız bir rastlantı beni Karşıyaka’ya daha fazla bağlamıştır. Karşıyakalılar, annem sinenizde, sizin topraklarınızda yatıyor. Karşıyakalılar, İzmir’i gördüğüm gün öncelikle Karşıyaka’yı ve orada sizin Türk topraklarınızda yatan anamın mezarını gördüm.

Administration

Karşıyaka is a stronghold of the social-democrats. Currently, the municipality is administered by Behice Yıldız Ünsal of the CHP (

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

Composition

There are 27

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Karşıyaka District:Mahalle
, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023. * Aksoy * Alaybey * Atakent * Bahariye * Bahçelievler * Bahriye Üçok * Bostanlı * Cumhuriyet * Dedebaşı * Demirköprü * Donanmacı * Fikri Altay * Goncalar * İmbatlı * İnönü * Latife Hanım * Mavişehir * Mustafa Kemal * Nergiz * Örnekköy * Sancaklı * Şemikler * Tersane * Tuna * Yalı *

Yamanlar Mount Yamanlar () is a mountain in İzmir Province, Turkey, located within the boundaries of the Greater Metropolitan Area of the city. Easily accessible from Izmir, Yamanlar is a popular excursion spot for the inhabitants of the city. It is se ...

* Zübeyde Hanım

International relations

Karşıyaka is twinned with: * ,

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

Piran Piran (; ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. A bilingual city, with population speaking both Slovene and Italian, Piran is known for its medieva ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

''(since 2013)''

Gallery

File:Osman Bey Park.jpg, Osman Bey Park in Karşıyaka File:Karsiyaka.jpg, Typical residential buildings of the Karşıyaka neighbourhood File:Buildings in Mavişehir.jpg, Buildings in Mavişehir from Bostanlı shore File:Mavişehir shore.jpg, Mavişehir shore

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karsiyaka Populated coastal places in Turkey Populated places in İzmir Province Fishing communities in Turkey Districts of İzmir Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey