Ortakoy Mosque & Ortakoy District

The Ortakoy Mosque is a striking mosque located on a little promontary of the waterside of Ortakoy district and is one the most popular locations on the Bosphorus. The mosque was commisioned by Abdulmecid in 1854 – 1856 and also known as “Great Mecidiye Mosque”. It is one of the most beautiful example of the Baroque architecture in Istanbul. The mosque was damaged during the earthquake of 1894, and the spire of the minaret needed to be rearranged. When it was understood that the building was in danger of collapsing in 1960, ground reinforcement efforts were carried out. After the conflagration in 1984, it was completely restored and reattained its previous magnificence. In the mosque there are some example of Islamic calligraphy written by the Sultan Abdulmecid himself. The wide and high windows of the mosque let the ever-changing light reflections of the Bosphorus shine in the mosque.

  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.

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