Zeytinburnu
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Zeytinburnu (literally, ''Olive Cape'') 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 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 ...
, Turkey. Its area is 12 km2, and its population is 292,616 (2022). It is a working-class area on the European side of
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 ...
, Turkey, on the shore of the Marmara Sea just outside the walls of the ancient city, beyond the fortress of Yedikule.


Geography

Zeytinburnu is located on the part of Çatalca peninsula that is apart from historical peninsula with Walls of Constantinople and overlooks to the
Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...
in İstanbul. Its altitude generally increases from south to north, and in south districts (Sümer, Nuripaşa, Kazlıçeşme etc.) embankments,
alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
and former stream beds lay while in north districts (Beştelsiz, Telsiz, Maltepe etc.) wearing surfaces of Bakırköy member (limestone with intercalated clay) lay. In addition Zeytinburnu is next to the west part of the
North Anatolian Fault The North Anatolian Fault (NAF; ) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Anatolian sub-plate. The fault extends westward from a junction with the Ea ...
, according to KOERI-UDİM possibility of an earthquake with M=7.0 in the next 50 years is 60.2% so Zeytinburnu is seismically at risk. According to the study carried out in 2024, amount of tree cover in Zeytinburnu is 151 Hectare, and its tree cover's percentage is 13.02%. The tree cover of Zeytinburnu has been mostly limited to its graveyards recently, so this district presents the appearance of a concrete jungle.


Composition

There are 13
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 Zeytinburnu District: * Beştelsiz * Çırpıcı * Gökalp * Kazlıçeşme * Maltepe * Merkezefendi * Nuripaşa * Seyitnizam * Sümer * Telsiz * Veliefendi * Yenidoğan * Yeşiltepe


History

Zeytinburnu was a fortress and settlement known as Kyklobion () or Strongylon () during the
Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
period, its name referring to the circular shape of the fortress. The fortress was built in
Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...
as part of a series of strongholds that guarded the coastal road leading to
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. It is first attested during the reign of
Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
(527–565). Kyklobion was used as the landing-site of the Arab armies on both of their assaults on Constantinople, in 674 and in 717. In the early 8th century, the
iconodule Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from – '' ...
Saint Hilarion was kept prisoner in the local monastery on the orders of Emperor
Leo V the Armenian Leo V the Armenian (, ''Léōn ho Arménios''; 775 – 25 December 820) was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. He is chiefly remembered for ending the decade-long war with the First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgars, as well as initiating the second ...
(r. 813–820). The site is again, and for the last time in Byzantine times, mentioned in a property deed of 1388. After the
Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...
in 1453, the name Kyklobion was transferred to the Yedikule Fortress by the local Greeks, and the original site was abandoned. Ruins of the original circular fortress survived until the 19th century, where the Austrian traveller Hammer-Purgstall saw them. Its name at the time was called in Greek Elaion Akra, "Cape of the Olive Trees"; the modern Turkish name has the same meaning. From the early 19th century onwards Zeytinburnu was an industrial village, centred on the leather industry of the area called Kazlıçeşme, which being on the coast with a good water supply was well suited to leather production. (the area was named for a fountain with a goose carved into the stonework, the fountain is still in existence). Up until the mid-20th century the residents were an urban mix of Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, Jews and Turks and still today the Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital is active in Kazlıçeşme, and has a museum in the grounds. During the WWI, the area was bombed by the British forces in 1918. The character of Zeytinburnu changed when a large wave of immigrants from
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
came and settled there from 1950 on. Zeytinburnu is an important lesson for city planning in Turkey, because it was one of the first ''
Gecekondu , meaning 'put up overnight' (plural ), is a Turkish language, Turkish word meaning a house put up quickly illegal building, without proper permissions, a Squatting, squatter's house, and by extension, a shanty or shack. is a neighborhood made o ...
'' districts. In other words, most of the buildings were built illegally, without infrastructure, and without any aesthetical concern. In the 1960s legislation was passed to prevent this type of building but by then this type of development had become unstoppable. At first these were little brick-built single storey cottages. From the 1970s onwards the little houses were replaced by multi-storey concrete apartment blocks built in rows with no space in between. In most cases the ground floor was used as a small textile workshop, and thus Zeytinburnu became a bustling industrial area with a large residential population living above the workshops. All this was still illegal, unplanned and lacked the infrastructure and the aesthetic appeal. After a heavy rain the streets would run with dirty water for days. Mosaic floor tiles were discovered during the restoration of the Zeytinburnu Kazlıçeşme Cultural Center. The mosaics date to the Late Roman and early Byzantine period.


Historical places


Zeytinburnu today

The leather industry has largely moved out to
Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...
now but the rows of six-storey blocks of housing and textiles remain. Although some improvements have been made to the streets and drainage, the area still has a stereotypical reputation for being the home of tough men and uncontrollable youths who drive around in cars blasting out pop music at high-volume. This is possibly exaggerated nowadays, and steps are being taken to smarten up the area. Most residents are working class, recent migrants from Anatolia, typically lacking in education. However, the younger generations are more educated thus changing the demographic shape of Zeytinburnu. To integrate the district with the rest of Istanbul, the municipality has improved the transportation by extending the modern tram line to Zeytinburnu, and the main tram station is now at the intersection of the metro line leading to Atatürk International Airport and Aksaray and fast tram lines leading to Istanbul's inter-city coach station and the old city in Eminönü. Moreover, Zeytinburnu has a station on the suburban railway line Sirkeci-Halkalı. Other important projects have improved the transportation, life quality and the economy of the district. Olivium Outlet Center was opened in 2000, a modern shopping mall with cinemas, with many shops specializing in factory surpluses, bringing new shopping opportunities for the people of Zeytinburnu and surrounding districts. The mall attracts many visitors on weekends. There is an
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 ...
community served by the Erikli Baba
Cemevi A cemevi or cem evi (pronounced and sometimes written as djemevi; meaning literally "a house of gathering" in Turkish) is a place of fundamental importance for Turkey's Alevi- Bektashiyyah tariqa populations. Certain Alevi organizations describ ...
. There are large minority groups of
Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...
and
Turkmens Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...
, who generally work in the textile industry, contributing to the Turkish economy. The Zeytinburnu-based NASCO NASREDDIN HOLDING A.S. was categorized as an Al-Qaeda ally by the United Nations. It was involved in terrorist financing. The Romanian government legislated this status for Zeytinburnu Nasco Nasreddin Holding A. S., as well as the Slovakian government. On 10 December 2014, in Zeytinburnu, an assassin killed the anti-Uzbekistan government Islamist Uzbek Imam Shaykh Abdullah Bukhoroy (Abdullah Bukhari). It took place outside of a Madrassa. The Turkish-run English language BGNNews news agency reported that the Turkish Meydan newspaper discovered that Uyghur fighters joining the Islamist terrorist organization ISIL were being helped by businessman Nurali T., who led a network based in Zeytinburnu, which produced counterfeit Turkish passports numbering up to 100,000 distributed to Uyghurs from China to help them go to Turkey form where they would enter Iraq and Syria to join ISIL. Uyghurs from China would travel to Malaysia via Cambodia and Thailand and then to Turkey, since a visa is not needed for travel between Turkey and Malaysia, then stay at locations in Istanbul, and then go to Iraq and Syria by traveling to southeastern Turkey. The information was revealed by AG who participates in the network, who noted that even though Turkish authorities are able to detect the fake passports they do not deport the Uyghurs and allow them into Turkey. AG said that: ''“Turkey has secret deals with the Uighurs. The authorities first confiscate the passports but then release the individuals.”'' Seven Uyghur restaurant workers, who provided money to the perpetrator of the 2017 Istanbul nightclub attack for his taxi fare, were arrested in Zeytinburnu. The restaurant was owned by Şemseddin Dursun. The Seferoğlu Sokak-based Uyghurs in Zeytinburnu aided the attacker when he fled the nightclub. As a result, Zeytinburnu became the site of over 50 police sweeps against "East Turkistanis" (Uyghurs), Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Uzbeks. Zeytinburnu is infamous for being used by Syria-destined jihadists as a transit point. An Uzbek national committed the nightclub attack according to the Turkish police. Turkish media said he was from the "East Turkestan" wing of ISIS. Erdoğan's government has deliberately facilitated the travel of Jihadist Uyghurs through Zeytinburnu, with Turkish intelligence involved and the nightclub massacre at Reina is a result of this. Turkey nabbed Abuliezi Abuduhamiti and Omar Asim, both Uyghurs. There are more than 100,000 unregistered people of
Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
and
Central Asian Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
origin in Zeytinburnu. Zeytinburnu, among other districts such as Küçükçekmece, Başakşehir,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Esenler, Bayrampaşa, and
Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...
, is home to many refugees of
Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
origin. Zeytinburnu view.jpg, General view Zkm.JPG, Zeytinburnu Cultural and Art Center Surp Pırgiç Ermeni Hastanesi.JPG, Armenian Hospital Batı Trakya Vakfı Cami.jpg, The community mosque of Turks of Western Thrace Zeytinburnu-Hatboyu.JPG, Hat Boyu Street and leather shops Belgradkapı-heykel.JPG, Belgrad Gate Saint Mary Of The Spring 2010-10-09 02.jpg, Holy Fishes in Greek Church Balıklı


Environment

Zeytinburnu is a very crowded county of İstanbul, so it undergoes a dense housing. Around coastal areas of Zeytinburnu the government ignored the court decisions and committed gentrification and
ecocide Ecocide (from Greek 'home' and Latin 'to kill') is the destruction of the natural environment, environment by humans. Ecocide threatens all human populations that are dependent on natural resources for maintaining Ecosystem, ecosystems and ensu ...
. While public lands next to the coast were transformed to residences, between Zeytinburnu and its coast a concrete wall was constructed.


Sports


Teams

;Football Zeytinburnuspor, a top-flight football team in the early 1990s, is now languishing in the minor leagues. Arif Erdem and Emre Belözoğlu started their careers here. Matjaž Cvikl (1967–1999) from the
Slovenia national football team The Slovenia national football team () represents Slovenia in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia, the governing body for football in Slovenia. The national squad is under ...
also played there. The women's football team played once in the Turkish Women's First Football League. ;Ice hockey The 2010-established men's ice hockey team of Zeytinburnu Belediyespor finished the 2013–14 Turkish Ice Hockey Super League (TBHSL) season as the runner-up. They became the champion in the following 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons.


Venues

Zeytinburnu Stadium with a total capacity of 16,000 people, is home to the football teams of Zeytinburnu. The Zeytinburnu Ice Rink, opened in 2016, is a mobile
ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
, which hosted the home 2015–16 season matches of the Zeytinburnu Belediyespor ice hockey team.


Town twinning

Zeytinburnu is twinned with: * Narimanov, Azerbaijan * Kuala, Azerbaijan *
Beit Hanoun Beit Hanoun or Beit Hanun () is a Palestinian city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 52,237 in 2017. As a result of the ongoing Gaza war, Beit Hanou ...
,
Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...
*
Semey Semey (; , formerly known as Semipalatinsk ( ) until 2007 and as Alash-Qala ( ) from 1917 to 1920, is a city in eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. I ...
, Kazakhstan *
Taraz Taraz ( ; also historically known as Talas) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (river), Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It had a populatio ...
, Kazakhstan * Shkodra, Albania


Mayor Government of Zeytinburnu

*
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
Muzaffer Çavuşoğlu Anavatan Party *
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
Hasan Yılmaz SHP *
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
Adil Emecan DSP *
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
Adil Emecan Anavatan Party *
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
–2001 Murat Aydın Fazilet Party * 2001–
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
Murat Aydın
AK Party The Justice and Development Party ( , AK PARTİ), abbreviated officially as AK Party in English, is a political party in Turkey self-describing as conservative-democratic. It has been the ruling party of Turkey since 2002. Third-party sources ...
*
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
–present – Ömer Arısoy
AK Party The Justice and Development Party ( , AK PARTİ), abbreviated officially as AK Party in English, is a political party in Turkey self-describing as conservative-democratic. It has been the ruling party of Turkey since 2002. Third-party sources ...


References


External links


District governor's official website

District municipality's official website
{{Authority control Populated places in Istanbul Province Fishing communities in Turkey Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Districts of Istanbul Province