Karaköy

The word Karaköy apparently combines the Turkish words "kara", usually meaning "black", and "köy" meaning "village". In this case, however, "kara" may have come from the Turkish word "Karay", referring to the Turkic-speaking Jewish community called the Crimean Karaites.[1] Though, linguists such as Sevan Nişanyan contest this theory by claiming that it isn't supported by written sources.[2]

Karaköy has been a port area since Byzantine times when the north shore of the Golden Horn was a separate settlement facing Stamboul/Constantinople over the water. After the re-conquest of the city from the Latin State in 1261, the Byzantine emperor granted Genoese merchants permission to settle and do business here as part of a defense pact.

The district developed rapidly, and the Genoese built sturdy fortifications to protect themselves and their warehouses. Fragments of the Genoese walls are still visible, but the Galata Tower, at the highest point, is the most substantial relic of the old walled enclave. Fifteenth-century Galata probably looked much more like an Italian city than a Byzantine or Ottoman one.

Galata (Karaköy) quayside in the early 20th century

Bankalar Caddesi was Istanbul's financial center during the Ottoman period. Completed in 1892, the Ottoman Central Bank headquarters is the first building at right.

In 1455, shortly after the conquest of Constantinople, the district had three categories of inhabitants: temporarily sojourning Genoese, Venetian and Catalan merchants; Genoese with Ottoman citizenship; and Greeks, Armenians and Jews. The composition of the population quickly changed: according to a census of 1478, almost half the local population was Muslim. From 1500 on, Sephardic Jews settled here after they were expelled from Spain in 1492.

The French poet André Chénier was born in Karaköy in 1762; his father was a French merchant and diplomat, his mother an Ottoman Greek.

Karaköy experienced a second wave of Christian arrivals when British, French and Italian forces of the Allies came to Istanbul to fight in the Crimean War (1854–1856). The lack of piers made the unloading of troops and military equipment difficult so in 1879, a French company obtained a concession to build a new quay in Karaköy, which was completed in 1895.[3]

In the last decade of the 19th century, Karaköy developed into a banking and insurance hub, especially along Voyvoda Street (Bankalar Caddesi). The Ottoman Bank established its headquarters here while Italian and Austrian insurance companies opened branch offices.

As trading activity increased in the early 20th century, the port was expanded with customs buildings, passenger terminals and naval warehouses. Karaköy also became famous for the Greek taverns along the quay.

After 1917, thousands of White Russians fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution landed here and settled in the area.

Ferries ashore Karaköy quay

Streets of Karaköy

Modern Karaköy is a major transport hub.

The Galata Bridge connects Karaköy with Eminönü and the historic parts of Istanbul; the T1 tram line crosses the bridge, linking Karaköy to Kabataş and Bağcılar. The Tünel funicular runs from Karaköy up to Tünel station at the start of İstiklal Caddesi.

Şehir Hatları ferries leave for Kadıköy and Üsküdar on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, as well as for terminals along the Golden Horn as far as Eyüp.

Cruise ships from Mediterranean ports such as Piraeus in Greece, Dubrovnik in Croatia, Civitavecchia (Rome) and Venice in Italy berth at the nearby Galataport complex.[4]

An active business center for centuries, Karaköy remains an important commercial hub for Istanbul. All kinds of hardware, tools, plumbing items and spare parts are for sale in Tersane Street in Perşembe Pazarı (literally Thursday Market). Selanik Pasajı, a shopping center right on Karaköy Square, contains shops specialising in electronic parts. The underpass providing safe passage under the busy square contains more shops.

Karaköy is a popular place to eat especially seafood, with several fish restaurants gathered around the local fish market. More fish restaurants line the underside of the Galata Bridge. Galataport is a large new dining and shopping development along the waterside.

Before the Covid pandemic, Istanbul's red-light district could also be found in Karaköy. However, in 2022 it was announced that the streets once filled with brothels (and where there are still the remains of a synagogue) would be redeveloped as an arts district.[5]

Zülfaris Synagogue houses the Jewish Museum of Turkey

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church of Galata

Church of SS Peter and Paul, Istanbul

The Karaköy Yolcu Salonu, Istanbul's old cruise ship terminal now serves as a Peninsula Hotel.

Karaköy contains many churches representing the Latin Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Turkish Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Armenian and Bulgarian rites as well as a couple of Jewish synagogues. The Greek, Jewish, French, Italian and Austrian schools reflect its past cosmopolitan character.[6]

The curvy Camondo Steps, off Voyvoda Street, were donated by the wealthy Sephardic Jewish banker Abraham Camondo (1785–1873) and built in baroque style.[7]

The large Galataport hotel, restaurant and cafe, shopping and office mixed-use development opened along the water in 2022.

• Österreichisches St. Georgs-Kolleg Istanbul
• Deutsche Schule Istanbul (Özel Alman Lisesi) – private school teaching in German
• Liceo Scientifico Italiano
• St. Benoit High School, founded 1583 by French Jesuit missionaries and co-educational since 1987
• Karaköy Greek Orthodox High school
• Getronagan Armenian High School, founded in 1886

• André Chénier, French poet associated with the French Revolution.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karaköy.

• Historical Galata Modern Karaköy
• Sihirli Tur (in Turkish)