Kuzguncuk
Encyclopedia
Üsküdar
Üsküdar is a large and densely populated municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered on the north by Beykoz, on the east by Ümraniye, on the southeast by Ataşehir, on the south by Kadıköy, and on the west by the Bosphorus, with the areas of Beşiktaş,...
district on the Asian side of the Bosphorus 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...
. The neighborhood is centered on a valley opening to the Bosphorus and is somewhat isolated from the main part of the city, being surrounded by nature preserves, cemeteries, and a military installation. It is a quiet neighborhood with streets lined with antique wooden houses.
Kuzguncuk is bordered on the north by Beylerbeyi
Beylerbeyi
Beylerbeyi is a neighborhood in the Üsküdar municipality of Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on the Asian shore of the Bosporus, to the north of the Bosphorus Bridge. It is bordered on the northeast by the neighborhood of Çengelköy, on the east by Kirazlıtepe, on the southeast by Küplüce, on the...
, on the east by Burhaniye
Burhaniye, Istanbul
Burhaniye is a neighborhood in the Üsküdar municipality on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. Burhaniye is mostly a residential neighborhood, with few historic houses and buildings. It is bordered on the north by Beylerbeyi and Küplüce, on the east by Kısıklı, on the south by Küçük Çamlıca, and on...
, on the south by İcadiye
İcadiye
İcadiye is a neighborhood in the Üsküdar municipality on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. It is centered on İcadiye Hill and is bordered on the north by Kuzguncuk, on the east by Altunizade, on the south by Selami Ali, and on the west by Sultantepe...
and Sultantepe
Sultantepe, Istanbul
Sultantepe is a neighborhood in the municipality of Üsküdar on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. The name Sultantepe means "sultan hill."...
, and on the west by the Bosphorus. On the other side of the Bosphorus is Beşiktaş
Besiktas
Beşiktaş is a municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and on the east by the Bosphorus...
. The Otoyol 1
Otoyol 1
Otoyol 1 , abbreviated as , aka İstanbul 1. Çevreyolu , is a motorway in Istanbul, Turkey that forms the inner half ring road of the city connecting European and Asian parts via the Bosphorus Bridge....
highway separates the neighborhood from Burhaniye.
History
The word kuzguncuk means "little raven" or "barred window of a prison door" in TurkishTurkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. The name is said to have come from a holy person named Kuzgun Baba, who lived in the area during the time of Sultan Mehmet II or from the corruption of a previous name, Kozinitza.
During Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
times, this area may have been called Khrysokeramos (Hrisokeramos), meaning "golden tile," because of a church here with a gilded roof. Around 553, Narses
Narses
Narses was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign....
had a church built here dedicated to the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
.
Jews, who were expelled from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, began settling in 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...
in the late 15th century. As voluntary immigrants, they had more freedom concerning their place of residence, and many left the traditional Jewish quarters of Istanbul such as Balat for villages along the Bosphorus such as Kuzguncuk. The earliest evidence of Jewish presence in the neighborhood is a tombstone dated 1562.
Armenians began settling in Kuzguncuk in the 18th century and had become a sizable group by the 19th century. Ottoman records show a 1834 request that their nighttime religious services be allowed to continue without interference. In 1835, their first church was built.
After the establishment of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, the Jewish population, once sizable in Kuzguncuk, decreased rapidly.
The riots of 1955
Istanbul Pogrom
The Istanbul riots , were mob attacks directed primarily at Istanbul's Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955. The riots were orchestrated by the Turkish government under Adnan Menderes. The events were triggered by the false news that the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, north Greece—the...
caused the emigration of many members of Istanbul's minority groups, including Kuzguncuk's Greeks and Armenians. There are very few non-Muslims left today. This exodus opened up cheap housing to immigrants from Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, changing the ethnic makeup of Istanbul's neighborhoods. Most of the new residents of Kuzguncuk came from the Black Sea Region
Black Sea Region
The Black Sea Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Marmara Region to the west, the Central Anatolia Region to the south, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the southeast, the Republic of Georgia to the northeast, and the Black Sea to the north.-...
. By the end of the 20th century, 15% of neighborhood residents were from İnebolu
Inebolu
İnebolu is a town and district of the Kastamonu Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is from Istanbul by road and north of Kastamonu. It is a typical Black Sea port town with many fine examples of traditional domestic architecture. According to the 2000 census, population of the...
, 15% from Rize
Rize
Rize is the capital of Rize Province, in northeast Turkey, on the Black Sea coast.-Etymology:The name comes from Greek or Ριζαίον , meaning "mountain slopes". In modern times, its name in Greek was usually Ριζούντα . Its Latin forms are Rhizus and Rhizaeum...
, 10% from Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
, 10% from Tokat
Tokat
Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey, at the mid Black Sea region of Anatolia. According to the 2009 census, the city of Tokat has a population of 129,879.-History:Tokat was established in the Hittite era....
, 10% from Kars
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
, and 10% from Sivas.
The police station in Kuzguncuk was moved due to low crime statistics.
Religious sites
There are currently two synagogues in Kuzguncuk: Bet Yaakov SynagogueBet Yaakov Synagogue
Bet Yaakov Synagogue is a synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey. Located at the Asian side of the Bosphorus in the area called Kuzguncuk, just beside a Greek Orthodox church, it was built in 1878. The Jewish population of Kuzguncuk having moved away, it is kept alive by worshippers whose families...
(built 1878) and Bet Nissim Synagogue
Bet Nissim Synagogue
Bet Nissim Synagogue is a synagogue built in 1840s in Kuzguncuk, Istanbul, Turkey. With its Ehal-ha-Kodesh dating from the end of 18th century, it was restored and reopened to the public. Visits are possible through appointment from the Chief Rabbinate....
(built in the 1840s). The Nakkaştepe Jewish Cemetery is also in Kuzguncuk.
Churches of Kuzguncuk include Surp Krikor Lusavoriç (Saint Gregory the Illuminator
Gregory the Illuminator
Saint Gregory the Illuminator or Saint Gregory the Enlightener is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church...
) Armenian Church
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
(first built 1835, rebuilt 1861), Ayios Yorgios (Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
) Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
, Ayios Panteleimon (Saint Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon , counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletian persecution of 303 AD...
) Greek Orthodox Church, and Ayios Ioannis (Saint John) Greek Orthodox Sanctuary (an ayazma or holy spring).
There was no mosque in the center of the neighborhood until 1952, when the Kuzguncuk Mosque was built in the courtyard of the Armenian church (with building funds that included donations from the Armenian congregation). The Üryanizade Mosque along the shore on the northern edge of the neighborhood was built as a mescit (small mosque) in 1860.
In the media
Several Turkish television series have been shot in Kuzguncuk; in addition, commercials for companies have also been filmed there. The disruption caused by filmmaking has not always been welcomed by residents.Notable people
- Cengiz Bektaş
- Hülya KoçyiğitHülya KoçyigitHülya Koçyiğit is a famous Turkish actress. She is considered to be one of Turkish cinema's most famous female leads and has received numerous awards such as at the prestigious Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and at various other international film festivals...
- Oktay Rifat
- Can YücelCan YücelCan Yücel was a Turkish poet noted for his use of colloquial language.-Biography:Can Yücel was the son of a former Minister of National Education, Hasan Ali Yücel who left his mark on the history of education in Turkey, and a grandchild of an Ottoman sea captain who perished with the frigate...
- Uğur YücelUgur YücelUğur Yücel is a Turkish film actor, producer and director. He graduated from the Theater department at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory . He took part in several plays between 1975 and 1984 in Kenter Tiyatosu , Tef Kaber Theatre, Dormen Theatre, and Şan Müzikholü...