Çamlıca is a leafy district of
Üsküdar
Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; ...
on the Asian side of
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
. It is famous for two hills - Big Çamlıca (''Büyük Çamlıca'' in Turkish, 268m) and Little Çamlıca (''Küçük Çamlıca'' in Turkish, 229m) - offering panoramic views across the
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via t ...
and the
Princes' Islands
The Princes' Islands ( tr, Prens Adaları; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", el, Πριγκηπονήσια, ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar ( en, Islands); alternatively the Princes' Arch ...
to the European side of Istanbul and
Sarayburnu
Sarayburnu ( tr, Sarayburnu, meaning ''Palace Cape''; known in English as the Seraglio Point) is a promontory quarter separating the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara in Istanbul, Turkey. The area is where the renowned Topkapı Palace and Gülh ...
. Historically, these were renowned beauty spots although by the end of the 20th century modern development had detracted from that beauty, not least when a series of radio and television towers were built on the hills.
Among the artists to leave drawings of the panoramic view from Büyük Çamlıca in its 19th-century heyday was the
Usküdar-born artist
Hoca Ali Rıza
Hoca Ali Rıza (1858 in Üsküdar – 20 March 1930 in Üsküdar) was a Turkish painter and art teacher, known primarily for his Impressionist landscapes and architectural paintings.
Biography
Hoca Ali Rıza's father was a cavalry major an ...
.
Çamlıca can be reached on the M5 Metro line from
Üsküdar
Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; ...
at
Kısıklı and
Bulgurlu stations.
Attractions
Büyük Çamlıca Mosque
In 2019 Turkey's largest mosque, the Great Çamlıca Mosque (''Büyük Çamlıca Cami'' in Turkish) opened on Big Çamlıca Hilll. It is only the third mosque in Turkey to have six minarets and can be seen from much of the centre of the city.
Çamlıca Tower
In 2021 the 369m-high
Çamlıca Tower
Küçük Çamlıca TV Radio Tower ( tr, Küçük Çamlıca TV-Radyo Kulesi), shortly Çamlıca Tower, () is a telecommunications tower with observation decks and restaurants on Little Çamlıca Hill in Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey.
...
(''Çamlıca Kulesi'' in Turkish) opened on Little Çamlıca Hill, in an attempt to bring all the radio and television masts together in one structure. It is open to the public and contains a restaurant with spectacular Istanbul city views.
Küçük Çamlıca Wood (''Küçük Çamlıca Korusu'')
From as early as 1654 in the reign of
Sultan Mehmed IV this woodland area near Kısıklı Metro station was landscaped and is now full of mature deciduous and evergreen trees. In 1940 Istanbul Governor
Lütfı Kırdar had it turned into a public recreation area, now very popular with picnickers. It now merges seamlessly with Küçük Çamlıca Hill with the Çamlıca Tower looming above it.
Right beside the woodland is the modern Çilehane Cami, built beside a small 17th-century stone building, much restored over the centuries, where a holy man named
Aziz Mahmud Hüdayı Efendi once lived with his family in two simple rooms.
Çamlıca Girls High Shool
In the Acıbadem neighbourhood of Çamlıca stands a crumbling wooden mansion designed by architect
Kemaleddin Bey for the Vice-Admira
Ahmed Ratıp Paşa The pasha never got to live in his mansion because of a scandal over the funding of the
Hejaz railway, and in 1938 it was converted to house the local high school for girls. This has since been moved into a modern building, leaving the mansion to its fate.
References
{{coord, 41, 00, 54, N, 29, 03, 54, E, display=title
Neighbourhoods of Üsküdar