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| Üsküdar. |
Üsküdar, pronounced OO-skoo-dar, is a big, crowded Istanbul suburb on the Anatolian side of the Bosphorus. About half a million people call it home. It is the oldest residential district in Istanbul. The atmosphere of Üsküdar is more laid-back than on the densely populated, busy, hustle-filled streets on the European shore, and this definitely makes for a more pleasant living. This area is very popular for university students, as well as retired people, because prices tend to be a bit lower, and still they have everything they might ever need there. If they need to commute to the European side for something, whether work or anything else, they simply take the boat or go over the bridge to Eminönu (which is directly opposite Üsküdar). Also, Üsküdar offers you one of the best views of the city of Istabul. Whether you're a painter, a photographer, a poet, or simply enjoy wonderful vistas, you'll definitely want to check Üsküdar out.
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| View of Istanbul from Üsküdar today |
In the past, Üsküdar was known as Chrysopolis (ancient) and Scutari (medieval). It was a city in a region called Bithynia, founded in the 7th century BC. The Greek colonists of Khalkedon were first to settle it, recognizing the potential of its location. The city was first called Chrysopolis, meaning the "City of Gold". It's suspected the city got its name from either being a prosperous harbour, or from shining with a gold-like glow in the sunset when viewed from the ancient city of Byzantium. Chrysopolis was a city with a big harbour and a shipyard, which were both crucial during the Graeco-Persian wars. A general from Athens, Alcibiades, surrounded Chrysopolis with solid city walls in 410 BC. Due to the rapid grow of Byzantium across the Bosphorus, Chrysopolis became a "toll station" for passage through the Bosphorus. With the arrival of Ottoman Turks, Chrysopolis became a major defensive spot, where Byzantine troops were stationed to defend Byzantium. However, not for very long, as Üsküdar had already fallen to the Ottoman Turks, a hundred years before the conquest of Constantinopolis (1453).
Including the communities of Galata and Eyüp, Üsküdar was the third community outside the city walls of Constantinopolis. This area used to serve as a burial ground, where you can still see big cemeteries today, such as the Karacaahmet Mezarligi (one of the largest cemeteries in all of Istanbul), Bülbülderesi Mezarligi (the Sabetay community's favourite cemetery), as well as several Christian and Jewish cemeteries. Üsküdar, or Scutari, was made famous in the Crimean War, because it became the location for the British Army Hospital (which Florence Nightingale modernized, 1854-1857). You can still visit this hospital today. It's called the Selimiye Barracks, and it hosts a room redesigned as Florence Nightingale's Museum.
In 2006, construction work began in the district of Üsküdar in order to create a tunnel under the Bosphorus for an underground railway. Still, the more they dig, the more archaeological findings they discover. Behind the ferry harbour there is a big shopping quarter, full of good restaurants, historical Ottoman mosques and sights, sounds and colours all around. However, young people still lack decent places to hang out, such as cinemas, clubs etc. This is also the area where you'll find the private Istanbul Commerce University, which is owned by the Chamber of Commerce.
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| Kiz Kulesi had many purposes in the past. Presently, the tower houses a restaurant. |
The district of Üsküdar is a perfect retreat from the urban rhythm of the big city. It offers ideal opportunities to clear your head and exercise your body, whether hiking through the Çamlica hills or walking along the shore of the Bosphorus. Also, history lovers will enjoy many ancient places here, such as the Beylerbeyi Palace. If parks make you happier than hiking or walking along the shore, there's always the possibility of exploring the grand Fethi Paşa Korusu Park. It is situated right behind Üsküdar, in the Paşalimani area. Named after Fetih Ahmet Pasha (a prince of the Ottoman Empire who modernized the Turkish glass industry), this park is private property, but the owners (among others, a respected industrialist Nuri Demirag) are letting the state use it for public purposes as long as they preserve it intact. The park offers a café, a stone waterfall perfect for children, as well as a stage where you can see open air concerts by unsigned musicians on most Friday nights during summer. This is also a popular "lovers' lane" for young Turkish boys and girls. Lovers of history will feel right at home, as Üsküdar offers them numerous old mosques and buildings dating back to the times of the Ottoman Empire. Many of these were designed by Turkey's most famous architect, Mimar Sinan, and many of them were built for the harem ladies. If you arrive here by ferry, you will immediately notice two mosques, one on either side of the ferry docks. One is Mihrinah Sultan's Mosque, and the other is Şemsi Pasha Mosque (designed by Mimar Sinan). Mihrimah was the daughter of the great Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, and Şemsi Pasha was his Vizier. If you've decided to explore the Şemsi Pasha Mosque, you will see a lovely library in the courtyard, where you can sit and rest your legs, while basking in the sunlight and smelling the healthy Bosphorus air.
In Üsküdar's centre, there's also a grandiose marble fountain dedicated to Sultan Ahmet III. A bit above Üsküdar, there's the Dogancilar area, with its beautiful Valide Sultan Mosque, as well as Çinili Camii with its intricate tilework. If you're interested in more religious sites, you mustn't miss the Aziz Mahmud Tekke and the Nasuhi Effendi Tekke. These are old, sacred Dervish lodges, offering you a taste of Sufi mistique, which you will certainly remember your whole life. Aziz Mahmud (1541-1628) was the founder of the Jelveti Sufi order, while Nasuhi Effendi founded the Nasuhiye Khalwati Sufi order.
Salacak is a promenade stretching from the district's centre to the Harem bus station. It is especially crowded during the summer, due to its magnificent view upon the European shore of Istanbul, with its memorable silhouettes of the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, Beşiktaş and Taksim. Food and drink service establishments line the promenade, and the most famous one is in the water - the Kiz Kulesi. This tower, whose name means the "Maiden's Tower" (from a legend says that once upon a time a beautiful maiden was imprisoned in the tower), has existed since ancient Byzantium. It served as a toll booth for the Bosphorus passage, and now hosts a restaurant where many weddings are performed as well. When the weather permits, the shoreline is full of fishermen, picnic-goers and tea-drinkers, as well as water lovers in their rowing boats.
This area was famous for its fruit gardens and flowery orchards, but turned into a residential quarter in the 19th century. The majority of the populace is a mixture of Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Jews, as is the general case in Istanbul. Due to a lot of Armenians, this district also has Armenian schools and the Surp Garabed Armenian church (1844). On September 6th, 1955, a brutal, anti-Christian "Istanbul Pogrom" took place there, making many Greeks and Armenians leave. Baglarbaşi is a popular commercial and residential district today. Several respected educational facilities are based here, such as the Üsküdar American Academy (which is one of Istanbul's oldest established schools and also offers one of the largest school libraries in all of Turkey), Üsküdar Anadolu Lisesi, Haydarpaşa Lisesi, the Burhan Felek sports centre, and the Marmara University Faculty of Theology.
Kuzguncuk is an almost pastoral little quarter, filled with charming little shops, coffee houses along the sea, as well as numerous wooden houses built in an age-old traditional architectural fashion. A small park and a little ferry harbour graces the waterside. During the Byzantine era, this cozy little village used to be called Kosinitsa, and has been populated with the usual Istanbul mixture of Turks, Armenians,Greeks and Jews. Some of the most famous inhabitants of Kuzguncuk have been as follows:
The writer Buket Uzuner described the village of Kuzguncuk in minute detail in his novel "Mediterranean Waltz" ("Kumral Ada Mavi Tuna").
Çengelköy ("hook village" or "anchor village" in Turkish) used to be a peaceful village famous for its cucumbers. Today more and more big villas, called yali, are being built along the shoreline. There are a lot of bakeries, shops and seaside cafes there, all with a fantastic view of the Bosphorus. Today, Çengelköy mostly suffers from heavy traffic, but has, fortunately, still kept its pictoresque charms. Some of the most important Çengelköy landmarks are the Kuleli Military High School and Çamlica (or Tchamlidja), Istanbul's highest point wih a marvellous panoramic view of Istanbul.
