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Beylerbeyi neighborhood in Istanbul

The area has been settled since the Byzantine period when emperor Constantine erected a golden cross here thus naming the neighborhood as Stavros (Cross) Gardens. During the Ottoman period the area was used as an imperial garden and a popular resort area for the royal family, many sultans came here to hunt as well.

The name of the neighborhood came from the governor general (Beyler Beyi in Turkish) Mehmet Pasha, who built his house here during the rule of Murat III in the 16th century. Later on, the sultans built several pavilions on the imperial estate around the terraced gardens. In the beginning of the 17th century sultan Ahmed III built the Sevkabad Pavilion. This fine terraced gardens, called as Hasbahce, were soon filled with tiled and domed pavilions around a big pool, baths and fountains, kiosks and some service buildings. In 1829 sultan Mahmut I built a wooden waterfront palace, named as Yellow Palace, a work of the Balyan family. Finally, when this palace was demolished by a fire, sultan Abdulaziz ordered to build the present Beylerbeyi Palace between 1861-1865. Today, the palace buildings stand in the shadow of the cross-continental Bosphorus Bridge built in 1973.

Beylerbeyi is a small and nice neighborhood in Uskudar district of Istanbul, on the Asian shores of the city. There are many small fish restaurants and cafeterias around its small pier. Beylerbeyi Mosque, constructed of cut stone in Baroque style, was built by sultan Abdulhamid I in 1778 in memory of his mother Rabia Sultan and designed by the architect Tahir Aga. During the day you can notice many local people fishing from the quay in front of the mosque.

Several old wooden houses from the late Ottoman period decorate this neighborhood, including a special category hotel, and narrow streets makes the traffic a little bit difficult to move.

Hope to see you soon in Istanbul.