Yeşilköy (; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano , ) is an affluent
neighbourhood
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 the municipality and district of
Bakırköy
Bakırköy is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district in the European part of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 29 km2, and its population is 226,685 (2022). Bakırköy lies between the State road D.100 (Turkey), D.100 highway (l ...
,
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 25,039 (2022). on the
Marmara Sea about west of Istanbul's historic city centre. Prior to the rapid increase of Istanbul's population in the 1970s, Yeşilköy was a secluded village and sea resort.
Location
The ''mahalle'' is located along the Marmara Sea about 11 kilometres west of Istanbul's
historical center. It is bordered by the districts of
Yeşilyurt to the east, Ataköy to the northeast,
Florya
Florya is a quarter () belonging to the Bakırköy district of the greater Istanbul, Turkey. It is located along Marmara Sea, and borders to the northeast the neighborhood of Yeşilköy, to the northwest that of Küçükçekmece. Its residents are ...
to the west, and the district of Küçükçekmece to the north. The western part of the district is called ''Çiroz''.
Etymology
The original name, ''San Stefano'', in use until 1926, derives from a legend: in the early 13th century, the ship carrying
Saint Stephen
Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity.["St ...]
's relics to Rome from
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, sacked by the crusaders of the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
, was forced to stop here because of a storm. The relics were taken to a church until the sea calmed, and this gave the name to the church and to the place.
[Tuna(2004)] In 1926, the village was named Yeşilköy which means "Green Village" in Turkish. It is believed that the writer
Halit Ziya Uşakligil who lived there at the time gave this new name to the village.
[
]
History
In 1203, the beach of Agios Stefanos had been the site of disembarkation of the Latin army of the Fourth Crusade, which would conquer Constantinople the following year.
In the 19th century, the whole village was owned by the prominent Armenian Dadian family.[
During the ]Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, French forces were stationed here and built one of the three historic lighthouses 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 ...
still in use.[ San Stefano was where in 1878 the Russian forces halted their advance towards Constantinople at the end of the Russo-Turkish War and was the location where the Treaty of San Stefano was signed between the Russian and Turkish Empires.][ In 1909, the decision to send Sultan Abdülhamid II into exile to ]Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
was taken by the members of the Committee of Union and Progress
The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...
at the yacht club of San Stefano.[
On 10 July 1894, San Stefano – as with the whole Marmara region of Constantinople – was hit by a strong earthquake, followed by a ]tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
.[
] The sea receded 100 metres from the shore and the following tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
created giant waves which devastated the coast.[ The boathouse, the docks and large wooden structures were damaged, many houses were destroyed or damaged and also the train track was severely damaged by the quake.][
San Stefano was where the first aviation facilities were built in the Ottoman Empire in 1912 and an aviation school was set up and later developed by German officers to train pilots for the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons.
In 1912, during the ]Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
, thousands of soldiers suffering from cholera
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
were brought here, and about 3,000 of them died and were buried near the train station.[
Shortly after the Ottomans' entry into the ]First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
as Germany's ally, on 14 November 1914, a monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
erected here in 1898 to commemorate the Russian soldiers who died in 1878, was blown up by the Ottoman military as a propaganda event; the demolition is thought to have been filmed by the first Turkish filmmaker Fuat Uzkınay and thus is officially deemed to be the birth of Turkish cinema
Cinema of Turkey or Turkish cinema (also formerly known as ''Yeşilçam'', which literally means ''Green Pine'' in Turkish language, Turkish), () or Türk sineması refers to the Turkish film industry, film art and industry. It is an importa ...
. During the bombings of Istanbul, the area was affected several times by the British bombs.
Society
Demographics
Beginning in the late 1800s, San Stefano was a favourite coastal resort and hunting place for Constantinople's upper classes. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the village had a predominantly Christian population. Beginning in the late 1800s, San Stefano was a favourite coastal resort and hunting place for Constantinople's upper classes. It had a mixed population, composed of Turks, 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 ...
(now almost completely gone), 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 ...
and Levantines (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 ...
and French people
French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common Culture of France, French culture, History of France, history, and French language, language, identified with the country of France.
The French people, esp ...
, now mostly gone).[ The legacy of its once cosmopolitan character is present: an Italian mission, an Italian Catholic church and cemetery, an Armenian Apostolic Church and a few Greek churches still exist in the area, with the Armenians and Italians of the district still frequenting their churches.][ The ]Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
and the Assyrians
Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...
, faithful of the Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...
, who have emigrated to Istanbul since the second half of the 20th century from eastern and southeastern Turkey, are relatively more recent newcomers. In 2015, the Syriac Orthodox community got permission to build a Syriac Orthodox Church in this part of the city, for their 15,000 members in Istanbul, where not only the large majority of Turkey's Assyrians live, but also the majority of Istanbul's Assyrians. On 3 August 2019, in the presence of the Patriarch of the Syriac Church, of Patriarch Bartholomew and of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Erdoğan laid in Yeşilköy the first stone of the Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church, the first church erected in Turkey since the foundation of the republic. The area chosen for the construction is a part of the ground of the ancient Levantine cemetery. The church was finished in 2023 and was inaugurated by Erdoğan on 8 October 2023.
Religious traditions
In the Greek Orthodox Church of Aghios Stephanos on 26 December each year (Saint's Day), the ceremony named ''Thysias'' () is celebrated.[ Several previously bought sheep are sacrificed in the church garden and the meat is distributed to the poor and needy.][ The ceremony is attended by Greeks from Yeşilköy (including several emigrants) and other districts of Istanbul.][ The ceremony commemorates the forced landing of the ship carrying the Saint's bones at the village. The crew, bound for Rome and forced to land due to a storm, kept the relics for 10-12 days under a tent erected at the future church, and during this time the villagers fed the sailors by slaughtering sheep from their flocks.][
]
Landmarks
Secular landmarks
Yeşilköy retains some remarkable examples of 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 ...
wooden houses, built in the late 19th and early 20th century.[
Among them:]
Crespin House
The house, which is one of the oldest residences in Yeşilköy, is now a boutique hotel serving mainly foreign tourists.[Tuna & al. (2013), p. 30] The objects decorating the lobby do not come from the Crespins, but from the collection of the current owners.[ Edouard Crespin's father, one of Yeşilköy's best-known personalities, came to Bursa as Consul representing the King of France during the reign of ]Mahmud II
Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...
.[ When he retired, he stayed in Bursa and started the silk trade.][ His son Edouard Crespin settled in Yeşilköy and built the house, located at Istanbul Caddesi 29.][
]
Semprini Houses
Among the historical buildings in Yeşilköy are three townhouses built in 1900 on Istasyon Caddesi by Guglielmo Semprini, a famous Levantine architect of Italian origin, who designed many works in Istanbul, and is best known for the ''Grand Hotel de Londres'' in , Taksim.[
]
Religious landmarks
The district contains a mosque and four notable churches (Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Roman Catholic and Syriac). The first three churches are dedicated to St Stephen,[ the last to St Ephrem. Moreover, the quarter hosts also one of the few '' Ayazma'' still in use in Istanbul.]
Mecidiye Mosque
The mosque, the first built in the locality, is the ''Mecidiye cami'' (dedicated to the Order of the Medjidie
Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I.
History
Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...
, an Ottoman order) and was built to the design of the Ottoman architect Mimar Kemaleddin in the years between the end of the reign of Mehmed V
Mehmed V Reşâd (; or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) was the penultimate List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch. He had ...
and the beginning of the Republic.
Agios Stephanos Greek Orthodox Church
The church, possibly built where important personalities in Yeşilköy's history have been buried, is located on Mirasyedi Sokak.[Tuna & others (2013), p. 24] The current structure, which bears parts of the first church built in the Byzantine period on its façade, was built in 1845.[ Its exterior dimensions are 22.31 x 13.75 metres, while its height is about 10.5 metres.][ The church has a basilica plan with three naves.][ The bell tower was built later.][ The small icons in the upper part of the ]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 ...
contain episodes from the life of Jesus Christ, while the larger ones in the lower part contain, from left to right, depictions of St. Stephen, Mary and the Infant Jesus, Jesus Christ and John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
.[
]
Surp Stepanos Armenian Church
The church, located on Inci Ciceǧi Sokak, was built in 1844 under the leadership of Bogos Bey, a member of the Dadyan family, and still serves Yeşilköy's large Armenian community today.[Tuna & al. (2013), p. 25] The gate to the complex, which is separated from the street by a high wall, is noteworthy.[ In the 1870s, a school, still active today, was built next to the church.][
]
Santo Stefano Roman Catholic Church
The church, the construction of which was started in 1865 according to the design of architect Pietro Vitalis, and finished in 1886, is located on Cumbuṣ Sokak.[Tuna & al. (2013), p. 26] The first building collapsed in the earthquake of 1894, and was replaced by a new temple.[ The wooden ceiling was made with Austrian craftsmen and materials.][ On the façade there are three noteworthy statues from France.][ Also worth seeing is the painting on the altar depicting the stoning of St. Stephen.][ During the Marmara earthquake of 1894, the living quarters at the back of the church were damaged and rebuilt.][ The lower floor of the building in which the restaurant is located, directly opposite the church, was used by the financial affairs office of the Russian army during the 1877 war.][
]
Saint Ephrem Orthodox-Syriac Church
In Yeşilköy on 3 August 2019, in the presence of the Patriarch of the Syriac Church, Patriarch Bartholomew and Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Erdoğan laid the foundation stone of the first Syriac church to be erected in Turkey since the founding of the republic. The area chosen for the construction is a part of the land of the ancient Levantine cemetery. The temple was completed in 2023.
Aghiasma of Aghia Fotini
In the vicinity of the Greek church, there is also an ''aghiasma'', i.e. a Greek Orthodox sacred spring, dating back to the Byzantine period and dedicated to Aghia Fotini, located in the basement of a house and freely accessible from the street, which is a covered pedestrian pathway hosting several restaurants.
Religious buildings gallery
File:Yeşilköy Mecidiye Mosque 06.jpg, ''Mecidiye'' Mosque
File:AghiosStephanosChurchInYesilkoy01.jpg, Agios Stephanos Greek Orthodox church
File:SurpStepanosArmenianChurchInYesilkoy01.jpg, Surp Stepanos Armenian church
File:SantoStefanoRomanCatholicChurchInYesilkoy01.jpg, Santo Stefano Roman Catholic church
File:StEphremSyriacOrthodoxChurchInYesilkoy.jpg, St. Efrem Syrian Orthodox church
File:AghiasmaOfHagiaPhotiniInYesilkoy01.jpg, Aghiasma of Agia Photini
Transportation
Yeşilköy has a station for the Marmaray commuter railway
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Commuter rail systems can use locomotive-hauled tr ...
between Gebze and Halkalı. The first station, servicing the suburban railway line (''Banliyö Treni'') to Sirkeci, was built in 1871, and contributed to the neighbourhood's boom as a popular resort. The quarter is connected to the center of the city and to the nearby neighborhoods by bus. The Dolmuş
In Turkey and Northern Cyprus, a () is a share taxi that runs set routes within and between cities.
Background
The name is derived from Turkish language, Turkish for "seemingly stuffed", in reference to how the vehicles were often filled to the ...
lines which connected Yeşilköy with the center and Bakirköy have been discontinued after the entry into service of Marmaray.
Istanbul Atatürk International Airport, formerly known as the Yeşilköy Airport, is located in this district.
Economy
The headquarters of Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...
are on the property of the airport. MyCargo Airlines (formerly ACT Airlines) has its head office in Level 4, Building A3 of the Istanbul World Trade Center (İstanbul Dünya Ticaret Merkezi) in Yeşilköy. Borajet also had its head office in Yeşilköy. When Bestair existed, its head office was in Yeşilköy.
Yeşilköy has a Marina - the ''Yeşilköy Burnu Marina'' - [
] and sandy beaches.[
]
Culture
On the waterfront, a small museum dedicated to the village and its minorities has been opened in 2012.
Honour
San Stefano Peak on Rugged Island in the South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...
, Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
is named after the settlement, in connection with the Treaty of San Stefano.
Images of Yeşilköy
File:Marmara Sea at Yesilkoy (Resim 093).jpg, View of the Marmara Sea from Yeşilköy
File:Yesilkoy Marina (Resim 079).jpg, Yeşilköy Marina
File:Yeşilköy Lighthouse.jpg, Yeşilköy Lighthouse (now in Yeşilyurt)
File:Yesilkoy Air Base Istanbul 1911.jpg, Yeşilköy Air Base in 1911
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yesilkoy
Neighbourhoods of Bakırköy
Fishing communities in Turkey