Samatya (; ) is a quarter of the

Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

district 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 ...

. It is located along the

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

, and borders to the west on the neighborhood of

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 ...

(the "Castle of the Seven Towers").

Etymology

The name originates from the Greek word ''psamathion'' (), meaning "sandy", because of the great quantity of sand found in the quarter.

History

About 383 AD, the first monastic institution was established in Constantinople, at Psamatheia, at that time still outside the

walled city The following cities have, or historically had, defensive walls. Africa Algeria * Algiers * Ghardaïa * Timimoun Egypt See List of Egypt castles, forts, fortifications and city walls. * Al-Fustat * Cairo * Damietta Ethiopia * Harar Libya *Apo ...

. Up to recent times, Samatya was mostly inhabited by

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 ...

, who were settled here in 1458 by Sultan

Mehmet II 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, ...

,Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 200 and who own there the church of '' Surp Kevork'', also called ''Sulu Manastiri'' (Water's monastery) – previously an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

church which dates back to before the Ottoman conquest, and by

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, who have the churches of ''Hristos Analipsis'' and '' Haghios Menas''.Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 186 The quarter was destroyed in 1782 by one of the largest fires of Istanbul ever recorded. The area was affected by the British bombing of İstanbul during the WWI.

Samatya today

In Samatya there is also an important public hospital, the Istanbul Educational and Research Hospital İstanbul Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi. Samatya has a station (named "Kocamustafapaşa") on the T6 line

Sirkeci Sirkeci () is a neighborhood in the Eminönü quarter of the Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey. In the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine period, the area was known as Prosphorion Harbour, Prosphorion ().Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 57 The neighborhood b ...

- Kazlıçeşme.

Notable personalities

Hrachia Acharian Hrachia Acharian (, reformed spelling: Հրաչյա Աճառյան; ; 8 March 1876 – 16 April 1953) was an Armenian linguist, lexicographer, etymologist, and philologist. An Istanbul Armenian, Acharian studied at local Armenian schools an ...

- Armenian linguist * Simon Agopyan - Armenian painter * Mihran Apikyan - Armenian writer and linguist *

Sevan Bıçakçı Sevan Bıçakçı (; born 1972) is a Turkish famed jeweller of Armenian descent. He is one of the few renowned jewelers in Turkey and is known around the world. He is considered a "star jeweler" in Turkey. Life and career Of Armenian descent, ...

- Turkish jeweller * Gomidas Keumurdjian - priest and martyr of the

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

* Levon Larents - Armenian writer * Avedis Zildjian III - Armenian American cymbal maker

References

Sources

* * Quarters of Fatih Armenians in Istanbul Armenian communities in Turkey {{Istanbul-geo-stub