The Besiktas literally means “cradle stone” and is the name of the historic center of the municipality. According to a story, a cleric when turn back from pligrimage brougt a cradle-shaped stone used in the baptism of Jesus and placed it in the church in todays Besiktas. According to another story Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa erected five masts used for mooring ships here. Because of it here was called “bes tas” means “five stones”. And Besiktas is corruption of “bes tas”. The Besiktas district located on the European shore of the Bosphorus.

Besiktas history go back to the Ancient History. The first inhabitants of the region were Thracians. In ancient times the villages on the Bosphorus shore were isolated communities in the forest that lined the water-side. In Byzantine period the area was called “Diplokionion” means double column in Greek. The tradition of having a summer palace on the Bosphorus was began by the Byzantines with their Ayios Mamas palace complex. In the Ottoman period once the emperors had established control of the Black Sea coasts, the Ottoman navy was docked in the Bosphorus and the Bosphorus villages began to improve. For caravans and the Ottoman armies want to cross the Bosphorus, the area was a meeting place. Some of the most important hunting logdes and palaces was constructed in the district : Dolmabahce Palace, Yildiz Palace, Ciragan Palace and Ihlamur Pivillion.

Following the declaration of Turkish Republic in 1923, the Ottoman ruling family was deported. The palaces and mansions along the coast were emptied out. Some of these buildings were given to new government ministries and some used as schools and other public buildings, other were pulled down. Besiktas, in 1930 separated from Beyoglu district and became an independent district of Besiktas.

Besiktas Inonu Stadium

Besiktas Inonu Stadium is the home of the football club Besiktas J.K. It is located next to the Dolmabahce Palace. It was designed by Italian architect Paolo Vietti Violi who collaborated with Turkish architects Sinasi Sahingiray and Fazil Aysu for preparing the project. The stable of the Dolmabahce Palace was chosen as the location to build the stadium. The first foundation was laid in 1939, but the construction works were frozen due to the outbreak of the Second World War. The stadium was inaugurated in 1947 by Ismet Inonu, the second President of Turkey and himself a Besiktas fan, and Lutfi Kirdar, the Governor of Istanbul. In 1952, the stadium was named as the Mithat Pasa Stadium, later in 1973, it was renamed as the Inonu Stadium. For many years Galatasaray S.K. and Fenerbahce S.K. have share the stadium with Besiktas J.K. Later years for Galatasaray S.K. Ali Sami Yen Stadium was constructed in 1964 and for Fenerbahce S.K. Sukru Saracoglu Stadium was constructed in 1982. The stadium has a capacity of 32,000. It is the only stadium in the world from which a football fan can view two continents : Europe and Asia, which are separated by the Bosphorus.

Inonu Stadium is a holy place for Besiktas fans, because it has seen many victories against famous European football clubs, such as FC Barcelona, Liverpool, Marseille, Paris Saint Germain, AC Milan, and many others. Inonu Stadium holds the record for highest decibel level (132dB) ever recorded in football, in a match against Liverpoo breaking the previous record which was held by the Liverpool fans in Anfield. The football team wears black and white shirts and is nicknamed the Black Eagles. The club has earned notoriety for its faithful fans. Besiktas J.K. also has basketball, volleyball, and other sports teams.

Besides football, BJK Inonu Stadium can be configured to hold many other events, particularly major concerts. The first stadium concert in Turkey was performed by Bryan Adams at the Inonu Stadium on July 28, 1992. Madonna performed on October 7, 1993.

Besiktas District on Google Maps

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