Balat is the traditional Jewish quarter in the Fatih

Fatih

Fatih is a municipality and district in Istanbul, Turkey that encompasses most of the peninsula coinciding with historic Constantinople. In 2009, the district of Eminönü, formerly a separate municipality located at the tip of the peninsula, was merged into Fatih...

 district of Istanbul

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...

. It is located 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 Istanbul, in the old city on the historic peninsula, on the western bank of the Golden Horn

Golden Horn

The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of...

. (Another Istanbul neighborhood deeply associated with Jewish settlement is Kuzguncuk

Kuzguncuk

Kuzguncuk is a neighborhood in the Üsküdar district on the Asian side of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. The neighborhood is centered on a valley opening to the Bosphorus and is somewhat isolated from the main part of the city, being surrounded by nature preserves, cemeteries, and a military...

 on the Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n shore.)

The name Balat is probably derived from Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 palation (palace), from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 palatium, after the nearby Palace of Blachernae

Palace of Blachernae

The Palace of Blachernae was an imperial Byzantine residence in the suburb of Blachernae, located in the northwestern section of Constantinople...

.

See also

• Ahrida Synagogue of Istanbul
  Ahrida Synagogue of Istanbul
  Ahrida Synagogue is one of the oldest synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in Balat, the Jewish quarter, of the city.-History:...
  
  
• Yanbol Synagogue
  Yanbol Synagogue
  Yanbol Synagogue is a synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey. First built by Jews from Yanbol, Bulgaria, during the Byzantine period, the synagogue was rebuilt in the 18th century. It is one of the two remaining ancient synagogues of the Balat area, the traditional Jewish quarter of Istanbul.-External...
  
  
• Karataş, İzmir
  Karatas, Izmir
  Karataş is a neighborhood of İzmir, Turkey, within the boundaries of the city's central metropolitan district of Konak. The neighborhood no longer has an official delimitation or status and exists as a notional zone that is admitted to stretch along the small cove of the same name in the Gulf of...