Bankalar Caddesi
Encyclopedia
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Voivode Street), located in the historic Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...
quarter (present-day Karaköy
Karaköy
Karaköy, the modern name for the ancient Galata, is a commercial neighborhood in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus....
) within the district of Beyoğlu
Beyoglu
Beyoğlu is a district located on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city by the Golden Horn...
(historic Pera) in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, was the financial center of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. It was the street where the prominent banks, financial institutions and insurance companies had their headquarters during the Ottoman period, including the Ottoman Central Bank (originally established as the Bank-ı Osmanî in 1856, and later reorganized as the Bank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane in 1863) and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası, established in 1866.) These buildings are still used as headquarters or branch offices by banks and other financial institutions.
The southern stop of Tünel
Tünel
The Tünel is a short underground railway line in Istanbul, Turkey. It is an underground funicular with two stations, connecting the quarters of Karaköy and Beyoğlu. Located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the underground railway tunnel goes uphill from close to sea level and is about 555...
(1875), the world's second oldest subterranean railway line after London's Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
(1863), is located near the eastern entrance of the Bankalar Caddesi.
The Camondo Steps, a famous pedestrian stairway designed with a unique mix of the Neo-Baroque and early Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
styles, and built in 1860 by the renowned Ottoman-Venetian Jewish banker Abraham Salomon Camondo
Abraham Salomon Camondo
Count Abraham Camondo was a Jewish Ottoman-Italian financier and philanthropist and the patriarch of the Camondo family....
, is also located on Bankalar Caddesi. The steps lead upstairs to the historic Rue Camondo (present-day Banker Sokağı), a parallel side street where the ruins of the Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
Palazzo del Comune (1316), built by Montano de Marinis, the Podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
of Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...
, is located a few meters to the left (west) of the stairway, behind the façade of the 1880s Bereket Han office building on Bankalar Caddesi.
Bankalar Caddesi continued to be Istanbul's main financial district until the 1990s, when most Turkish banks began moving their headquarters to the modern central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
s of Levent
Levent
Levent is a neighbourhood and one of the main business districts of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European side of the city. It is a part of the municipality of Beşiktaş which is situated to the north of the Golden Horn, at the western shore of the Bosporus strait.Levent is in direct...
and Maslak
Maslak
Maslak is a neighbourhood and one of the main business districts of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European side of the city. It is an exclave of the municipality of Şişli, though being far north and actually closer to the municipalities of Beşiktaş and Sarıyer.Maslak is in direct competition...
. In 1995, the Istanbul Stock Exchange
Istanbul Stock Exchange
The Istanbul Stock Exchange is the only corporation in Turkey for securities exchange established to provide trading in equities, bonds and bills, revenue-sharing certificates, private sector bonds, foreign securities and real estate certificates as well as international securities. The ISE was...
moved to its current building in the Istinye
Istinye
İstinye is a neighbourhood in Istanbul, on the European side of the city. It is located between Emirgan and Yeniköy on the northwestern shore of the Bosporus, within the borough of Sarıyer. It is one of the finest seashore locations on the Bosporus where people walk around during the weekends....
quarter of the Sarıyer
Sariyer
Sarıyer is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. With a long shore along the water, the district boasts both a beautiful coastline and a lush forest. The Sarıyer district is a huge area consisting of the villages on the European side of the Bosphorus from...
district.
External links
- Ottoman Bank Museum: Database of the buildings on Bankalar Caddesi. Click on a building's image for detailed information.
- Ottoman Bank Museum: Panoramic view of the buildings on Bankalar Caddesi.
- Ottoman Bank Museum: History of the Ottoman Bank.
- Istanbul Stock Exchange: History of the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
