Kurtuluş is a neighbourhood of the

Şişli Şişli () is one of the 39 districts of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south. In 2009, Şiş ...

district of Istanbul that was originally called ''Tatavla,'' meaning 'stables' in Greek ( el, Ταταύλα). The modern Turkish name means "liberation", "salvation", "independence" or "deliverance". On 13 April 1929, six years after the Republic of Turkey was founded, a fire swept through the neighbourhood and largely destroyed it, with 207 houses going up in flames. The name was changed to Kurtuluş to mark the rebuilding of the area. Once a predominantly

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

neighbourhood, its population today mostly consists of

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

who moved there after the Republic of

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 in ...

was founded in 1923. There is still a small population or

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

and

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, as well as some

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...

who are relatively recent economic migrants. Kurtuluş is served by the Osmanbey Metro station and innumerable buses from Taksim. It is adjacent to

Pangaltı Pangaltı (spelled Pangaaltı or Pancaldi in some older sources) is one of the four neighborhoods (together with Teşvikiye, Maçka and Osmanbey) within the Nişantaşı quarter of the Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is home to the C ...

Feriköy Feriköy is a neighbourhood of Şişli, Istanbul, 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 W ...

and Dolapdere.

History

The quarter started life in the 16th century as a residential area for

from the island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

who were settled here to work in the principal dockyards of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in the neighbouring Kasımpaşa quarter; they originally lived in Kasımpaşa but retreated uphill to a new area when their church there was turned into a mosque. In 1793 Sultan Selim III decreed that only Greeks would be allowed to live in Tatavla, a distinction it shared with the small Aegean town of Ayvalık. In 1832, a fire completely destroyed the neighbourhood, with 600 houses and 30 shops going up in flames. During the 19th century Tatavla's population reached around 20,000 and it hosted several Orthodox churches (Hagios Demetrios, Hagios Georgios and Hagios Eleftherios), schools and

taverna A taverna (Greek: ταβέρνα) is a small Greek restaurant that serves Greek cuisine. The taverna is an integral part of Greek culture and has become familiar to people from other countries who visit Greece, as well as through the establishme ...

s; it was nicknamed ''Little Athens'' because of its Greek character. It was typically a residential area for Greeks of more modest income. Nevertheless, a number of grand houses were built in the late 19th century, some of which still stand today, especially along Kurtuluş Caddesi. Despite the turmoil of the

Balkan War The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defea ...

, followed by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and then the devastating fire, the neighbourhood continued to be home to a large Greek population (as well as a significant Armenian and Jewish population). However, the riots of 1955 persuaded most of the Greeks that the time had come to emigrate.

Culture

Tatavla used to be famous for the lively

Baklahorani Baklahorani (alternatively, Bakla Horani; el, Μπακλαχοράνι) or Tatavla carnival ( el, Αποκριές στα Ταταύλα) was a carnival traditionally celebrated annually in Istanbul, Turkey, by members of the local Greek Orthod ...

carnival, an annual event organised by the Greek community. This was banned by the Turkish authorities in 1943, but was revived in 2010. A vivid description of pre-First World War Tatavla is to be found in

Maria Iordanidou Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, d ...

's 1963 novel Loxandra, which is based on the experiences of her grandmother.''Loxandra'', English translation 2017, by Maria Iordanidou, pub. Harvey, pp. e.g. 26-28

References

External links

* Şişli Belediyesi (Şişli Municipality). ''Tarihçe'' (Brief history). https://web.archive.org/web/20100302202602/http://www.sislibelediyesi.com/yeni/sisli/t1.asp?PageName=tarihce Retrieved 15 September 2009. * A Journey through Kurtuluş, a Mirror of Turkey Old and New, Evan Pheiffer, 2 April 2020. https://www.resetdoc.org/story/a-journey-through-kurtulus/. Retrieved 16 October 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtulus Şişli Quarters in Istanbul Greeks in Istanbul Jews and Judaism in Istanbul