Esenler is a municipality and
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of
Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 43 km
2, and its population is 445,421 (2022).
It is on its
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an side. Esenler is mainly densely packed, working class residential in the midst of its industrial neighbouring districts of
Gaziosmanpaşa
Gaziosmanpaşa (; old name: ''Taşlıtarla'') is a developing working class municipality ( belediye) and district of Istanbul, Turkey, on its European side. Its area is 12 km2, and its population is 495,998 (2022). Esenler and Bayrampaşa a ...
,
Güngören
Güngören is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 7 km2, making it the smallest district of Turkey in terms of land area. Its population is 282,692 (2022), down from a peak of 318,545 in 2007. It is an indus ...
and
Bağcılar
Bağcılar is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 23 km2, and its population is 740,069 (2022). It is located on the East Thrace, European side of Istanbul, near the ...
. The mayor is Tevfik Göksu.
History
In the
Ottoman times this area, well outside the
city walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...
, was the villages of Litros and Avas, populated by
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
farmers. During the 1923
population exchange between Greece and Turkey, these villagers were deported and the area was then settled by
Turks who had themselves been deported from
Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
.
Christian Orthodox Romani people
{{Infobox ethnic group
, group = Romani people
, image =
, image_caption =
, flag = Roma flag.svg
, flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress
, po ...
from Esenler settled in
Amaliada
Amaliada (, Katharevousa: Ἀμαλιάς, ''Amaliás'') is a town and a former municipality in northwestern Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ilida, of which it is the seat and a mu ...
four decades after population exchange. It was part of
Bakırköy
Bakırköy is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district in the European part of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 29 km2, and its population is 226,685 (2022). Bakırköy lies between the State road D.100 (Turkey), D.100 highway (l ...
district till 1992 and Güngören between 1992 and 1994.
Composition
There are 17
neighbourhoods
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...
in Esenler District:
Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
* 15 Temmuz
* Birlik
* Çifte Havuzlar
* Davutpaşa
* Fatih
* Fevzi Çakmak
* Havaalanı
* Kazım Karabekir
* Kemer
* Menderes
* Mimar Sinan
* Namık Kemal
* Nine Hatun
* Oruçreis
* Tuna
* Turgut Reis
* Yavuz Selim
Esenler today
Many of the large numbers of people that migrated to Istanbul in the 60s to 90s ended up in districts like this and with a population of over half a million Esenler has desperately insufficient infrastructure, leading to over-crowded schoolrooms and many other problems.
Esenler has the largest inter-city bus terminal
A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...
of the European side.
Sport
Opened in 2017, the Esenler Stadium is located in the "Esenler Sports Village" in Kemer Neeighborhood.
References
*
*
*
External
District governor's official website
District municipality's official website
Local news website
Populated places in Istanbul Province
Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey
Districts of Istanbul Province
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