Arnavutköy

Arnavutköy
View of Arnavutköy from the Bosphorus
Arnavutköy
Coordinates: 41°4′5″N 29°2′35″E / 41.06806°N 29.04306°E / 41.06806; 29.04306Coordinates: 41°4′5″N 29°2′35″E / 41.06806°N 29.04306°E / 41.06806; 29.04306
Country Turkey
Province Istanbul
Population (2012)[1]
 • Urban 198,165
 • District 206,299

Arnavutköy (meaning "Albanian village" in Turkish; known in Greek as Mega Rhevma (Μέγα Ῥεύμα), meaning "great current") is a historic neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey, famous for its wooden Ottoman mansions and seafood restaurants, as well as the campus of the prestigious Robert College with its centennial buildings. It is part of the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, and is located between Ortaköy and Bebek on the European shoreline of the Bosphorus strait.

History

Robert College, Gould Hall

In 1863, Robert College, the oldest American school outside the United States, was established in its current campus which originally stretched from Arnavutköy to the vicinity of Bebek and Rumelihisarı. In 1971, a section of this campus became part of Boğaziçi University, which was formerly the college section of the school. The high school section, formerly named Robert Academy (RA) is still an American school and is located in the Arnavutköy side of the historic Robert College campus.

View of Arnavutköy from the Bosphorus

During the Byzantine period, the village has been known with the Greek names Hestai (Εσταί), Promotu (Προμοτού), and Anaplus (Άναπλους).

The population, in a publication of the Şirket-i Hayriye (Istanbul Ferryboat Company) written just before the First World War, was given as 493 Turks and Muslims in 168 households, and 5973 Greeks in 975 households. Arnavutköy also had a large Jewish community during most of the Ottoman period, but many Jews moved away after the great Arnavutköy fire of 1877.

Arnavutköy was historically famous for its Ottoman strawberry, a less juicy and smaller kind than the usual strawberries found throughout Turkey. To date, some strawberry fields survive in the inland of the district and every spring local groceries are pillaged by strawberry lovers.

Culture

Arnavutköy harmoniously represents the coexistence of citizens from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, being one of the historic neighbourhoods of Istanbul where one can find a mosque, a church and a synagogue within close proximity.

The sidewalk by the sea is always full of individuals fishing, while small fishing boats frequently pass by Arnavutköy's coastline on the Bosphorus. The fresh fish that is caught is sometimes sold to the seafood restaurants in the area.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.