Fatih is one of the largest and central districts of Istanbul, Turkey, in the heart of the city. Since it constitutes the old quarter of the city conquered by Mehmed II the Conqueror, even today it is also called as the "real Istanbul" or the "first Istanbul". (Previously, Eminönü was also a part of Fatih district. Today Fatih and Eminönü constitute the old Istanbul peninsula, which was formerly the Constantinople.) Fatih sits within the Roman walls, is home to Fatih Mosque, the first prominent Ottoman mosque in Istanbul. Since it is the primary historical area of the city, it contains some of the most important historical monuments in the city. Fatih is a cosmopolitan area that in recent years has acquired the exaggerated image of being Istanbul's centre of Islamic extremism because of an area which is esentially a minor part of this large district. Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically known in English as Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ... Mehmed II (Ottoman Turkish: محمد ثانى Meḥmed-i sānÄ«, Turkish: ), (also known as el-Fatih (الفاتح), the Conqueror, in Ottoman Turkish, or, in modern Turkish, Fatih Sultan Mehmet) (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later from... The New Mosque seen from Golden Horn Eminönü is a district of Istanbul in Turkey. ... A peninsula in Croatia A peninsula (from the latin words paene insula, almost island) is a geographical landform consisting of an extension of a body of land from a larger body of land, surrounded by water on three sides. ... Map of Constantinople. ... The Fatih Mosque Complex extends along the Golden Horn side of Fevzipasa Street in Fatih. ...

History

The main road which cuts through Fatih is Fevzi Pasa Caddesi, which leads from the Beyazit area up to the walls of the city, for a long time this was a main artery of the city. To the right (as you come out of the city) is the equally important old Valens aqueduct from the Byzantine era. Add to this the fact that the area is high up and has a commanding view of both the Sea of Marmara and of the Golden Horn, and it is easy to see why the Byzantines built a number of palaces here. And then a crowded city neighbourhood grew around it. The Walls of Constantinople surrounded the Roman and Byzantine city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey). ... Valens aqueduct The Valens aqueduct (Turkish: Bozdoğan Kemeri) is an aqueduct in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey constructed by the Romans during the 4th century. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Map of the Sea of Marmara Satellite view of the Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara (Turkish: Marmara Denizi, Modern Greek: Θάλασσα του Μαρμαρά or Προποντίδα) (also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea) is an inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating the... View of Golden Horn from Eyup Sultan Cemetery The Golden Horn (in Turkish Haliç, in Greek Khrysokeras or Chrysoceras or Χρυσοκερας) is an estuary dividing the city of Istanbul. ...

Futhermore, the hilltops of Istanbul have been crowned with religious architecture ever since the city was founded, and the area known as Fatih contains some of these hills; Constantine's memorial was on one, then a church of Justinian, a major church dedicated to the 12 disciples of Jesus, which in 1461 was destroyed by Mehmet II to make way for the Fatih Mosque. Finally, following the Fatih mosque complex, built on the fourth hill, came many tombs and mosques built in memory of the Ottoman hierarchy. Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on... Justinian may refer to: Justinian I, a Roman Emperor; Justinian II, a Byzantine Emperor; Justinian, a storeship sent to the convict settlement at New South Wales in 1790. ... The Church of the Holy Apostles (Greek: Aghioi Apostoloi), also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian basilica built in Constantinople (then the capital of the Byzantine Empire) in 550 AD. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) among the great churches of... Mehmed II Mehmed II (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481; nicknamed el-Fatih, the Conqueror) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later from 1451 to 1481. ...

Ottoman period

The name "Fatih" comes from the emperor Fatih Sultan Mehmet, and means in Arabic the 'conqueror'. The Fatih Mosque built by Mehmet II is here in the district, his resting place is next to the Mosque and is much visited. It was on the ruins of a church, destroyed by earthquake and years of war, that the Fatih mosque was built, and around the mosque a large prayer school. The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... The Fatih Mosque Complex extends along the Golden Horn side of Fevzipasa Street in Fatih. ... The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ...

Immediately after the conquest groups of Islamic scholars had occupied the major churches of Aya Sofya and the Pantocrator (today Zeyrek Mosque) but the Fatih complex was the first purpose built Islamic seminary within the city walls. The building of the mosque complex ensured that the area continued to thrive beyond the conquest; markets grew up to support the thousands of workers involved in the building and to supply them with materials, and then to service the students in the seminary. The area quickly became a Turkish neighbourhood with a particularly pious character due to the seminary. Some of this piety has endured until today. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The Mosque viewed from north east. ...

Also after the conquest the Edirnekapı gate in the city walls became the major exit to Thrace and this gave a whole new lease of life to the neighbourhoods overlooking the Golden Horn. The Fatih mosque was on the road to Edirnekapı and the Fatih district became the most populous area of the city in early Ottoman times and in the 16th century more mosques and markets were built including: Iskender Pasha Mosque, once famous as a centre for the Naqshbandi order in Turkey); Hirka-l-Sharif Mosque, which houses the cloak of the Prophet Muhammad (The Mosque is in common use but the cloak is only on show during the month of Ramadan; the Jerrahi Tekke; The Sunbul Effendi Tekke and the Ramazan Effendi Tekke both in the Kocamustafapaşa district and Vefa Mosque. The last 4 were named after the founders of various Sufi orders, and Sheik Ebü’l Vefa in particular was of major importance in the city and was very fond of Fatih. Many other mosques, schools, baths and fountains in the area were built by military leaders and officials in the Ottoman court. Thraciae veteris typvs. ... Naqshbandi (Naqshbandiyya) is one of the major Sufi orders (tariqa) of Islam. ... For other persons named Muhammad, see Muhammad (name). ... The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... This article is about Islamic religious observances in the month of Ramadan. ... The Jerrahi (Turkish: Cerrahiyye, Cerrahilik) are a Sufi order (Tarika) derived from the Halveti (Khalwati) order. ... Tekke is a Turkish word which corresponds to the Arabic word Zawya or the Persian Dergah. ... Sünbül Efendi (died 1529 in Istanbul) was the founder of the Sunbuliyye Sufi order (also spelt Sunbuli). ... Tekke is a Turkish word which corresponds to the Arabic word Zawya or the Persian Dergah. ... Tekke is a Turkish word which corresponds to the Arabic word Zawya or the Persian Dergah. ... The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ...

From the 18th century onwards Istanbul began to grow outside the walls, and then began the transformation of Fatih into the mass of concrete apartment buidings that we have today. This process has been accelerated over the years by fire which destroyed whole neighbourhoods of wooden houses, and a major earthquake in 1766, which destroyed the Fatih mosque and many of the surrounding buildings, (which were subsequently rebuilt). Fires continued to ravage the old city and the wide roads that run through the area today are a legacy of all that burning. There are few wooden buildings left in Fatih today, although right up until the 1960s the area was covered with narrow streets of wooden buildings. Now it is narrow streets of tightly packed 5- or 6-floor apartment buildings. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Fatih today

Valens aqueduct in Fatih

Today Fatih, which is one of the largest districts of Istanbul contains areas including Aksaray, Fındıkzade, Çapa, Vatan Caddesi that are more cosmopolitan than the extreme conservative image it has in the eyes of many people (because of the Çarşamba community). It is one of the largest districts of Istanbul and with Eminönü which was officially an area of Fatih district until 1928 and with its historical Byzantine walls, conquered by Mehmed II, it is the "real" Istanbul of the old times before the current enlargement. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 490 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 627 pixel, file size: 157 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Valens Aqueduct in Istanbul I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 490 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 627 pixel, file size: 157 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Valens Aqueduct in Istanbul I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Valens aqueduct The Valens aqueduct (Turkish: BozdoÄŸan Kemeri) is an aqueduct in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey constructed by the Romans during the 4th century. ... Aksaray is a city in Turkey located in middle Anatolia. ... The New Mosque seen from Golden Horn Eminönü is a district of Istanbul in Turkey. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ...

Admittedly the area has become more and more crowded and from the 1960s onwards the more middle class residents moved to the Anatolian side and other parts of the city. Fatih is now very working class but being a previously wealthy area is better-resourced, with a better established community than the desperate poverty of the newly built areas like Bağcılar or Esenler, which are inhabited entirely by 1980s migrants in desperate circumstances. Fatih at least was mostly built to some sort of plan.

Besides Haliç University and Kadir Has University, two different Faculty of Medicine campuses of Istanbul University (Çapa Faculty of Medicine and Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine) are in Fatih. University established by of of the leading business tycoons of Turkey, Kadir HasoÄŸlu. ... Istanbul University Istanbul University (Turkish: Ä°stanbul Ãœniversitesi ) was founded as an institution of higher education named the Darülfünun (House of Multiple Sciences) on July 23, 1846; but the Medrese (Theological School) which was founded immediately after Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 is regarded as the precursor...

Moreover, since 1586 the Patriarchate has its headquarters in the relatively modest Church of St George in the Fener district of Fatih. A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. ... Fanar (formerly Phanar, Fener in Turkish) is a neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey (formerly Constantinople). ...

Fatih has many theatres, including famous Reşat Nuri Sahnesi. The area is quite well-served for schools, hospitals and public amenties in general. As Fatih is next to Eminönü there is a smaller choice of shopping than in other areas, but there are still boutiques on the main thoroughfares, many of which still carry a fair number of trees. A number of Istanbul's longest-established hospitals are in Fatih, including the Istanbul University teaching hospitals of Çapa and Cerrahpaşa, and Haseki Public Hospital, Samatya Public Hospital, Vakıf Gureba Public Hospital. A tramway runs from the docks at Sirkeci, through Sultanahmet to Aksaray which is a part of Fatih. Resat Nuri Guntekin ReÅŸat Nuri Güntekin (1889, Istanbul - 7 December 1956, London) was a Turkish novelist, storywriter and playwright. ... [edit] The neighborhood Sirkeci (pronounced Sir-ke-ji) is an area in the Eminönü belediye (neighborhood) in the city of Istanbul, Turkey. ... The Hippodrome today, with the Walled Obelisk in the foreground Obelisk of Thutmosis III The base of the Obelisk of Thutmosis III showing Theodosius the Great as he offers a laurel wreath to the victor from the Kathisma (emperors loge) at the Hippodrome The Delphi Tripod The lower part... Aksaray is a city in Turkey located in middle Anatolia. ...

Also, headquarters of some of the main units of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, including the Fire Authority of the city are based in Fatih. In the United Kingdom a Fire Authority or Fire and Rescue Authority is a body or committee which oversees the operation, policy and service delivery of a county or metropolitan fire and rescue service. ...

Fatih has many historical and modern libraries, including Edirnekapı Halk Kütüphanesi, Fener Rum Patrikhanesi Kütüphanesi (the Library of the Patrichate), Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Halk Kütüphanesi, İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi Kütüphanesi, İstanbul Üniversitesi Kardiyoloji Ensitütüsü Kütüphanesi, İstanbul Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hulusi Behçet Kitaplığı, İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kadın Eserleri Kütüphanesi, Millet Kütüphanesi, Mizah Kütüphanesi, Murat Molla Halk Kütüphanesi, Ragıppaşa Kütüphanesi, Yusufpaşa Halk Kütüphanesi.

Moreover, it must be pointed out that - according to Fatih Polis - in the night hours the quarter is quite unsafe.

On the other hand, today Fatih is known as one of the most (Islamic) conservative areas of Istanbul because of Çarşamba area which is esentially a very minor part of this historical district. Çarşamba is famous with bearded men in heavy coats, the traditional baggy 'shalwar' trousers and Islamic turban and women dressed in full black gowns are a common sight as this area is popular with members of the Naqshbandi Sufi order affiliated to a Sheikh, who is known as 'Mahmud Hoca'. Conservative parties always do well in this area. ÇarÅŸamba is a district of Samsun Province of Turkey. ... ÇarÅŸamba is a district of Samsun Province of Turkey. ... Salwar kameez, from Max Tilkes Oriental Costume, 1922 Salwar kameez (also spelled shalwar kameez and shalwar qamiz) is a traditional dress worn by both women and men in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. ... Naqshbandi (Naqshbandiyya) is one of the major Sufi orders (tariqa) of Islam. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... For other uses, see Sheikh (disambiguation). ...

Some parts of Fatih

• Fatih - the central district around the mosque itself.
• Horhor - a steeply climbing street from Akasaray up to the main street of Fatih. Has some university buildings, and some well-known kebab restaurants.
• Aksaray
• Laleli
• Yenikapı - an important area of Fatih with its main ferry-boat port of Istanbul
• Fındıkzade
• Çarşamba - Istanbul's 'Little Iran'.
• Karagumruk - a working class neighbourhood famous for its hoodlums and the hoolingans of its lower-league football team.
• Fistikagacı - lies roughly between Fatih proper and the crowded residential area of Koca Mustafa Pasa (near the Marmara shore), very popular with Istanbul University students.
• Vatan Caddesi - a major road of Fatih, out of the old city to the bus station at Esenler and on to the motorways to Europe. Home to Istanbul's central police HQ, (which also issues foreign nationals resident permits).
• Balat - Fatih's neighbourhood on the banks of the Golden Horn, once grand, now narrow impoverished streets. Formerly a centre of Istanbul's Greek population. It is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
• Sulukule - area inhabited by Gypsies, near Vatan Caddesi, famous for buskers and belly dancers.
• Samatya - One of the most pictoresque fish markets of Istanbul is here.

The Pride of Rotterdam, One of the P&O Ferriess Flagships operating the Hull-Rotterdam Route A ferry is a boat or a ship carrying passengers, and sometimes their vehicles, on scheduled services. ... Istanbul University Istanbul University (Turkish: İstanbul Üniversitesi ) was founded as an institution of higher education named the Darülfünun (House of Multiple Sciences) on July 23, 1846; but the Medrese (Theological School) which was founded immediately after Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 is regarded as the precursor... UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... Tzigane redirects here; for the composition by Maurice Ravel, see Tzigane (Ravel). ... Samatya (Greek: ) is part of the Fatih district of Istanbul. ...

Things to see

Today, there are still remnants of the sea walls along the Golden Horn and along the Marmara shore, to give a sense of the shape of old walled city and there are a number of important pieces of architecture in the Fatih district, including the Valens Acqueduct across Ataturk Bulvari, the fortress on the city walls at Yedikule, The Byzantine palace of Blahernai, the Roman column of Marcianus, Fethiye Cami, Kariye Camii (the former Byzantine church of the Chora), Patrichate Church of St George in the Fener district, Yavuz Selim Camii, and the Fatih Mosque itself. Imperator Caesar Flavius Marcianus Augustus or Marcian (c. ... The eastern exterior of the Chora Church, Ä°stanbul, showing, from left to right, the small dome above the diaconicon, the buttress supporting the apse, the free-standing minaret, the large, central dome, and the small dome abovethe prothesis. ... The Fatih Mosque Complex extends along the Golden Horn side of Fevzipasa Street in Fatih. ...

The tombs of some of the famous sultans, including Mehmed II the Conqueror (Fatih Sultan Mehmet) and Selim I the Grim (Yavuz Sultan Selim) and some of the leading statesmen of the Ottoman Empire, including Gazi Osman Pasha are in Fatih. Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... Mehmed II (Ottoman Turkish: محمد ثانى Meḥmed-i sānÄ«, Turkish: ), (also known as el-Fatih (الفاتح), the Conqueror, in Ottoman Turkish, or, in modern Turkish, Fatih Sultan Mehmet) (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later from... Selim I (Ottoman: سليم الأول, Turkish: ); also known as the Grim or the Brave, Yavuz in Turkish, the long name is Yavuz Sultan Selim (October 10, 1465 in Amasya – September 22, 1520 in Edirne) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Osman Nuri Pasha. ...

There is no doubt much, much more history buried under the concrete.

References

External links

v • d • e Fatih in Istanbul Province (in the Marmara region) of Turkey

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