Istanbul asv2021-11 img28 Aksaray PVS Mosque

Istanbul asv2021-11 img32 Aksaray PVS Mosque

Aksaray (literally "White Palace" in Turkish) is a neighbourhood in the Fatih district 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 ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. It is so named because it was founded by migrants from

Aksaray Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς ''Arhelays'', Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια ''Koloneya'', Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα ''Garsaura'') is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Aksaray Province. In ...

in central Turkey, brought here in the 15th century by

Mehmet II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

to repopulate the city after its conquest.Mamboury (1953), p. 99 Aksaray is a mainly modern neighbourhood centred on a busy square. It has a large population of migrants from the southeast of the country and many restaurants serve the cuisine of

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ...

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortres ...

and

Hatay Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province ...

. More recently it has also acquired a large population of Syrian refugees who have introduced their own cuisine to the mix. There are many shops and hotels here. To the east, Aksaray borders the textile-retailing neighbourhood of Laleli while to the west, along Millet Caddesi, lies Çapa. To the south is

Yenikapı Yenikapı () is a port and a quarter in Istanbul, Turkey, in the metropolitan district of Fatih on the European side of the Bosphorus, and along the southern shore of the city's historically central peninsula. Yenikapı is notable for the ongoi ...

and to the north Fatih. Busy Vatan Caddesi (AKA Adnan Menderes Bulvarı) runs northwest from Aksaray towards the City Walls, following the route of the lost Lycos river.

Attractions

The Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque stands by the busy road junction near Aksaray tram stop. Squeezed in between Aksaray and Yusufpaşa is the smaller, older and much less conspicuous Murad Pasha Mosque, built in 1473 in the early Ottoman architectural style perfected in Bursa. On Aksaray Square the wooden Hindiler (Horhor) Tekkesi has been rebuilt behind an austere stone fountain. The small Camcılar (Glaziers) Mosque is also being rebuilt on the edge of the square. A little way along Vatan Caddesi stands the Fenari İsa Mosque which started life as the early 10th-century Byzantine Church of Constantine Lips. Facing it across the road is the Yavuz Sultan Selim Medrese, a work of

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan ( ota, معمار سينان, translit=Mi'mâr Sinân, , ) ( 1488–1490 – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman architect ( tr, l ...

dating from 1549 now used as a clinic. Nearby is the tomb of one of Sultan Selim I's daughters, Şah Huban Kadın, partially hidden by a stone schoolhouse. It, too, was designed by

Transport

Aksaray is the starting point for the M1 line which runs to the Atatürk International Airport, now no longer in use for passenger aircraft. The Otogar stop on the line serves the large inter-city bus terminus at

Esenler Esenler is a district of Istanbul, Turkey, on its European side. Esenler is mainly densely packed, working class residential in the midst of its industrial neighbouring districts of Gaziosmanpaşa, Güngören and Bağcılar. The mayor is Tevfik ...

. Aksaray is also served by the T1 tram line.

Hub for sex trafficking

Aksaray is said to be a hub for the sex trafficking of young women from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Some reports in the Turkish media have claimed that the neighbourhood is especially prone to prostitution because it is a "no man's land" between two adjoining police jurisdictions, Fatih and

Eminönü Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...

Attractions

Transport

Hub for sex trafficking

References

Sources

External links