Ortakoy Mosque & Ortakoy District
Ortakoy literally means middle village probably because of being in the middle of the Bosphorus. Once it was a small fishing village. Ortakoy today is one of the vivid and popular neighborhood in the European side of Istanbul on the Bosphorus coast, very close to the Bosphorus bridge.
The area had an important place in the daily life of Ottomans and Byzantine periods. During Ottoman period and first decades of Turkish Republic was a cosmopolitan area with Turks, Armenians, Greeks and Jews comunities. But after foundation of Israil, jews community; after riots of 1955 Armenian and Greek communities immagrated from Ortakoy. Today there are very few non-muslim in the neigborhood. Ortakoy Mosque constructed by Abdulmecid in Ortakoy is one of the most known symbol of Istanbul.
Ortakoy today is a very popular spot for tourists and mainly young generation of local people with its art galleries, night clubs, cafes, bars, and restaurants.
Ortakoy Mosque on Google Maps