Kartal () 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 38 km², and its population is 483,418 (2022). It is located on the Asian side of the city, on the coast of the Marmara Sea between Maltepe and Pendik. Despite being far from the city centre, Kartal is heavily populated (total population nearly 500,000). The district's neighbours are Maltepe to the west, Sultanbeyli and Sancaktepe to the north and Pendik to the east. Inland from the coast, the land rises sharply up to the hills Yakacık and Aydos, the latter of which is the highest point in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

History

Kartal ('

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

' in Turkish, by folk etymology) was a fishing village on the shore of the Marmara Sea during the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, called Kartalimen or Kartalimin in

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 ...

, and was founded at the beginning of the 6th century. In the 11th century, the town was conquered by the ruler of the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

, Suleyman Shah. In 1329, Kartal became part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, the Byzantines re-took the city in 1403, however, and held it for 17 years before losing it to the Ottomans again. According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82-1893, the

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

of Kartal had a total population of 12,969, consisting of 6,920

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, 5,095 Muslims, 869

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, 3

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 1

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

and 81 foreign citizens. By 1947, Kartal was an industrial area and with the introduction of commuter trains to Haydarpaşa Terminal from Gebze in 1973, Kartal became even more important as an industrial area of Istanbul. However, the current trend is that factories are being closed down and moved inland. For example, the large cement factory on the shore, which is to be converted into a cultural center, was closed in 2003. There is a historical Roman bath ruin near Dragos Hill, which is being recovered by the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, with the financial support of Kartal Municipality. In 2008, parts of Kartal were merged with parts of Ümraniye to form the new district of Sancaktepe.

Kartal today

Luxury apartment complexes have been built on the coast, along with much more housing inland and this has attracted more shops and infrastructure. Housing is of good-quality in general. Building near the coast slowed after the 1999 earthquake, when people became aware that a major fault line runs just off this coast. However, building on the high ground inland is proceeding apace. On 4 June 2007, the Greater Istanbul Municipality and the former mayor of Kartal announced that a new urban city environment would be built in Kartal-Pendik. The plan includes a central business district, luxury residential developments, cultural facilities such as concert halls, museums, and theatres, and leisure locations including a marina and tourist hotels. Kartal is the terminal station of Kadıköy - Sabiha Gökçen Airport metro line. The Marmaray for commuter trains also passes through Kartal.

Geography

The coast of Kartal has sandy and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

soils, whereas the northern part of the district is mostly

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

. On Yakacık Hill, there are

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

deposits. The streams of Paşaköy, Kavaklıdere and Fındıklı feed the reservoir behind the Ömerli Dam.

Composition

There are 20

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 Kartal District: * Atalar * Çavuşoğlu * Cevizli * Cumhuriyet * Esentepe * Gümüşpınar * Hürriyet * Karlıktepe * Kordonboyu * Orhantepe * Orta * Petrol Iş * Soğanlık Yeni * Topselvi * Uğur Mumcu * Yakacık Çarşı * Yakacık Yeni * Yalı * Yukarı * Yunus

Religion

The majority religion of today's Kartal is

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Kartal Cemevi is one of the several

Alevi Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...

temples in

. Kartal Surp Nişan Armenian Orthodox Church (Holy Cross Armenian Church) is an Armenian Church located on the downtown of Kartal. Muhammad Maarifi Mosque which is also in Kartal features the mausoleum of the founder of the Maarifi Islamic order. There are seventy mosques within the district.

Transport

; Metro * M4 Kadıköy - Sabiha Gökçen Airport metro line ; Train Line * Marmaray Train Line ; Ferryboats *Kartal -

Princes' Islands The Princes' Islands (; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", , ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar (); alternatively the Princes' Archipelago; is an archipelago off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, ...

boats

Recreation

A part of the Kartal Park was developed in July 2018 as a "mist" park" featuring articial mist, colorful light effects and classical music attracting local residents and mainly children during hot summer days.

Sister towns

* Ardino,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

* Asparuhovo,

* Banovići,

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

* Bor, Niğde,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

* Buzovna,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

* Gölpazarı, Bilecik,

* Çüngüş,

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 Fortress, it is ...

* Damal, Ardahan,

* Agios Amvrosios,

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

* Gölpazarı, Bilecik,

* Hacıbektaş, Niğde,

* İmrenler,

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

* Ilfov,

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

Kemalpaşa Kemalpaşa is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 681 km2, and its population is 114,250 (2022). Kemalpaşa town is from the historical and traditional center of İzmir, (Konak, İzmir, Ko ...

Artvin Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; ; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is the seat of Artvin Province and Artvin District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

* Mudurnu,

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

* Ovacık, Tunceli,

* Ömerli,

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

Pınarhisar Pınarhisar, ancient Brysis (Βρύσις in Ancient Greek), is a town in Kırklareli Province in the Marmara Region, Turkey, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Pınarhisar District.Kırklareli,

Sjenica Sjenica ( sr-cyr, Сјеница, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia, on the vast Sjenica- Pešter plateau and geographically located in the central part of Sandžak. The population of the municip ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

* Subaşı,

Yalova Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. It is the seat of Yalova Province and Yalova District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Visoko Visoko ( sr-cyrl, Високо, ) is a city located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality had a population of 39,938 inhabitants with 11,205 livi ...

References

External links

The Government Office at Kartal
(in Turkish)
Kartal Municipality
{{Districts of Turkey , provname=Istanbul 6th-century establishments in the Byzantine Empire Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Districts of Istanbul Province Fishing communities in Turkey Populated places established in the 6th century Populated places in Istanbul Province