Sarıyer

Sarıyer is the northernmost district of İstanbul on the European side of the city. With a long shore along the water, the district boasts both a beautiful coastline and a lush forest. The Sarıyer district is a huge area consisting of the villages on the European side of the Bosphorus from Rumelifeneri, down through Tarabya, Yeniköy, Istinye, Emirgan to Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black Sea coast to the west of the mouth of the Bosphorus including the village of Kilyos. Its neighbours are Eyüp the northwest, Beşiktaş the south and Şişli the west. Sarıyer has a population of approximately 260,000.

The North Bosphorus

Sarıyer's Bosphorus villages, backed by steep hills, were once rural fishing communities. They later became a retreat for the city's wealthy. In the Ottoman period the sultans would come to these villages for picnics and excursions. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the coast was lined with summer residences of the wealthy foreign trading communities of Pera and Galata. Many foreign embassies built summer residences in this period. Since the construction of the coast road, these villages, and increasingly the hillsides behind them, house many expensive villas owned by İstanbul's rich businessmen, actors and musicians, attracted by the coastline and the lush forest behind. Sariyer has recently been supplied with natural gas. Significant parts of the district have also seen the installation of a new drainage system, particularly in the village of Sarıyer itself and along the coast road. These projects have led to road construction that has not been completed, and, in turn, to significant obstructions in traffic flow and, particularly in the village of Sarıyer, significant driving delays and traffic jams.

The portion of the coast road running through Sarıyer is lined with fish restaurants of all kinds ranging from the most elegant to the, equally delicious, small restaurants, many of which were formerly housed in boats moored by the sea wall. Unfortunately this coast is so popular with day-trippers and Sunday drivers that at weekends the pleasure of a drive along Sarıyer's is mitigated by the crawling queues of traffic.

In addition to the coast road, Sarıyer is connected to the downtown historic and financial centers by Buyukdere Road, the main road from Beşiktaş up to Maslak and beyond; this is the route used by minibuses serving Sarıyer-Beşiktaş. There is also high-speed ferry boat service for commuting to the city. However, as a drive through Sarıyer during commute times and rush hour will attest, many people commute by car.

The Bosphorus communities of Sarıyer include (south to north):
*Emirgan - another former retreat from the city, backed by a rich green hillside. Now some villas have been built in the woods, but Emirgan is still green. The district is named for the Ottoman lords that would come here on excursions (Emir). There is a lovely square in the centre, shaded by a huge plane tree, with a cafe in the middle. Home to the Sakıp Sabancı Museum.
*Reşitpaşa - crowded district on the hill above Emirgan, a big village, with some smart villas and lots of illegal gecekondu housing on a forested hillside. The modern campus of the Istanbul Stock Exchange is nearby, as are one campus of the Istanbul Technical University and a large new mall, Istinye Park.
*Istinye - formerly a shipyard, still a small fishing port, with a village behind and tea gardens by the sea. Now being built up with luxury villas on the hillside. In 2003 the fortresslike American consulate was built here. Used to have a smelly stream carrying raw sewage into the Bosphorus, which is now being biologically treated.
*Yeniköy - luxury villas on the hillside, a small area of tightly packed old houses near the sea, the old village, which with its churches and its long-established cafes and bakeries is an old-fahioned Istanbul cosmopolitan village, with a longstanding Greek community. Former prime minister Tansu Çiller lives in a town-house on the seafront. In recent years Yeniköy has acquired a community of Filipinos, working as domestic help in the big villas.
*Tarabya - (formerly Therapia - and indeed a sanctuary from the city for the sick) - a classy neighbourhood, dominated by the once grand Tarabya Hotel. There are fish restaurants and 'taverna' to go and get emotional over a long evening of raki and melancholy traditional Turkish music. Marmara University has a small site here, teaching French, housed in a villa built by Alexander Ypsilantis. There was a stream here, now buried under concrete. Tarabya also is home to the German consulate.
*Büyükdere - (the Byzantine Vathys Kolpos) a quiet residential area, a mixture of older streets of quiet houses and new estates of quality apartments. Home to a number of churches, the Spanish and Russian summer consulates and the Sadberk Hanim Museum. There are places to sit by the Bosphorus and sip tea.
*Sarıyer itself - Still a traditional rural, working-class Turkish town, lacking in infrastructure, it is relaxed, friendly and has a high proportion of retired residents. You will see them taking long walks along the seafront. It has a small harbour where fishing is still practiced and therefore a fish market and a long line of famous fish restaurants. There are also a variety of cafés, kebab houses and bars, where many of İstanbul's residents come to eat and drink on weekends. Many of the restaurants are owned by famous musicians, who sometimes put on live shows for customers.

The Forest Hinterland

The Belgrade forest, at one time the Ottoman military would come on exercises. Today it is popular for picnics at the weekend, and the road to Kilyos passes through here. The woods are home to Istanbul University's department of forestry, and are accessible by public transport. There have always been rural communities here but since the 1990's, luxury housing and private schools have been built in parts of the forest. The largest of these developments is the new village of Zekeriyaköy, which is now one of the most expensive residential areas in Istanbul. The campus of the prestigious, private Koc University is also located in the forest. The growth of these areas may have, along with construction and poorly conceived traffic flow planning, contributed to the heavy traffic in the village of Sarıyer.

Kilyos and the Black Sea

Kilyos is a small town, a pleasant retreat from the city, although it is often windswept in winter. Indeed, the Black Sea can produce dramatic storms even in the summer. Some Istanbul residents swim in the sae at Kilyos, although the rocky coast and strong currents, including, in places, a dangerous undertow, may make swimming here risky. The road to Kilyos leads through the Belgrade Forest with its system of viaducts and reservoirs going back to the Ottoman period, although it is also accessible through the village of Sarıyer, leading to serious traffic delays during summer months. There are lovely cool spots to stop in the forest or go for a country walk, and the hilltops have marvellous views of the Bosphrous and the Black Sea. For many years this area has been a popular spot for picnics. In recent years Kilyos has acquired a number of bars and cafes, including a couple of well-known private beach clubs and a rock festival in summer. There are still beaches though and plenty of spots for a picnic, so on Sundays long queues of cars snake through the forest honking their horns at each other.

Places of interest

*Rumelihisarı - the huge fortress on the Bosphorus built during the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul. There are a number of cafes and fish-sandwich places by the Bosphorus and in the summer Rumelihisarı is the venue for a series of popular open-air concerts.
*The Sakıp Sabancı Museum,
*Sadberk Hanım Museum
*Any number of wooden seaside houses (yalı).
*The historic aqueducts of the Belgrade forest - another important piece of historical architecture in the area.

undries

At one time Sarıyer had a leading football team, but it has gone into serious decline since the late 1980s.

Villages of Sarıyer

Rumelikavağı, Garipçe, [Rumelifeneri] , Demirciköy, Zekeriyaköy, Kilyos (Kumköy), Uskumruköy, Gümüşdere, Kısırkaya (the westernmost point of Sarıyer district)

External links

* [http://www.ise.org/ | the Istanbul Stock Exchange (in English)]
* [http://www.ku.edu.tr/main.php | Koç University]
* [http://www.grupbeyazmarti.com/sayfa2.htm | Sarıyer football club fan site]
* [http://www.sariyerliler.com/]