Avcilar
Encyclopedia
Avcılar is a district of Istanbul
, Turkey
, out of town on the Europe
an side of the city, just to the west of the Küçükçekmece
inlet of the Sea of Marmara
.
forces were keen to populate the Küçükçekmece
area with the Turks
, the Turkish presence in the area dates from this period.
The road from Istanbul to Europe
has become increasingly important ever since and by the time of the population exchange with Greece at the founding of the Turkish Republic there were 50 Greek families in the village, the property they vacated was then used as a military depot. Little is left of this history; the church had long been converted to a mosque and was pulled down in 1977 for a new mosque to be built; fountains and ruins have disappeared. There is some remaining Ottoman architecture including a hunting lodge belonging to the sultans, (the name Avcılar means 'hunters' in Turkish
), and some traditional farm houses.
There has also been a great deal of industrial development, around the port and also on the road out towards the village of Firuzköy, which overlooks the inlet.
At one time the seashore at Avcılar was a retreat from the city, but now the port at Ambarlı is very busy. The road to Europe carries more traffic than ever, it is now a busy highway, littered with billboards and heaving with trucks. Travelling into the city from Avcılar requires winding up onto this highway from Avcılar's network of bridges and narrow underpasses.
Apartments in the centre of Avcılar near the sea are expensive and here the lifestyle is better. There are places to sit outside, and the centre of Avcılar has many restaurants, two cinemas, an active night-life and a busy shopping area with pedestrianised shopping streets full of shiny American-style fast-food joints, narrow side-streets of little shops and cafes, and everywhere young people wandering about among people selling fake goods on the sidewalk, and every inch of road crammed with traffic; in other words a classic Istanbul scene.
's campus is sited in Avcılar, housing the faculties of engineering, business management, sports and veterinary medicine. Campus is far away from Anatolian Side of Istanbul and transportation was very complicated and difficult before Metrobus
system. There is parkland in the campus and around the Küçükçekmece inlet.
. A major fault-line follows the Marmara shore and Avcılar is built on low-lying sandy soil, some of it landfill, right on this shore. This and the fact that the buildings are tall and were very cheaply built make it a particularly vulnerable area.
Buildings damaged in 1999 have been repaired but an earthquake centred nearer to Istanbul will damage this area severely.
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, out of town on the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an side of the city, just to the west of the Küçükçekmece
Küçükçekmece
Küçükçekmece is a large, crowded suburb on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey 23 km out of the city, beyond Atatürk Airport. The population of the area reaches 600,000. This area covers 118 km².-Location:...
inlet of the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
.
History
The Marmara coast road bridges the mouth of the inlet, always an important route in wartime. Therefore when preparing the conquest of Istanbul the OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
forces were keen to populate the Küçükçekmece
Küçükçekmece
Küçükçekmece is a large, crowded suburb on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey 23 km out of the city, beyond Atatürk Airport. The population of the area reaches 600,000. This area covers 118 km².-Location:...
area with the Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, the Turkish presence in the area dates from this period.
The road from Istanbul to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
has become increasingly important ever since and by the time of the population exchange with Greece at the founding of the Turkish Republic there were 50 Greek families in the village, the property they vacated was then used as a military depot. Little is left of this history; the church had long been converted to a mosque and was pulled down in 1977 for a new mosque to be built; fountains and ruins have disappeared. There is some remaining Ottoman architecture including a hunting lodge belonging to the sultans, (the name Avcılar means 'hunters' in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
), and some traditional farm houses.
Avcılar today
Until the second half of the 20th century, Avcılar remained as a small village on the coast with lots of open land. It has grown enormously since 1980s. An incredible amount of housing has been built here.There has also been a great deal of industrial development, around the port and also on the road out towards the village of Firuzköy, which overlooks the inlet.
At one time the seashore at Avcılar was a retreat from the city, but now the port at Ambarlı is very busy. The road to Europe carries more traffic than ever, it is now a busy highway, littered with billboards and heaving with trucks. Travelling into the city from Avcılar requires winding up onto this highway from Avcılar's network of bridges and narrow underpasses.
Apartments in the centre of Avcılar near the sea are expensive and here the lifestyle is better. There are places to sit outside, and the centre of Avcılar has many restaurants, two cinemas, an active night-life and a busy shopping area with pedestrianised shopping streets full of shiny American-style fast-food joints, narrow side-streets of little shops and cafes, and everywhere young people wandering about among people selling fake goods on the sidewalk, and every inch of road crammed with traffic; in other words a classic Istanbul scene.
Istanbul University
Istanbul UniversityIstanbul University
Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...
's campus is sited in Avcılar, housing the faculties of engineering, business management, sports and veterinary medicine. Campus is far away from Anatolian Side of Istanbul and transportation was very complicated and difficult before Metrobus
Metrobus (Istanbul)
Metrobus is the name of the bus rapid transit system implemented and operated in İstanbul, Turkey. The name Metrobüs was coined by the transit agency to suggest that this system is a hybrid between a metro train and a bus...
system. There is parkland in the campus and around the Küçükçekmece inlet.
Earthquake vulnerability
This district was badly hit during the 1999 earthquakeEarthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
. A major fault-line follows the Marmara shore and Avcılar is built on low-lying sandy soil, some of it landfill, right on this shore. This and the fact that the buildings are tall and were very cheaply built make it a particularly vulnerable area.
Buildings damaged in 1999 have been repaired but an earthquake centred nearer to Istanbul will damage this area severely.