Güngören
Encyclopedia
Güngören (ˈɟynɟøɾen) is a small industrial and working class residential district of Istanbul
, Turkey
. It is located near the district of Bakırköy
. The mayor is Şakir Yücel Karaman (AKP
).
. Like them it has seen a rapid and uncontrolled influx of migrants from Anatolia
since the 1950s. In 1955 this was an open space with a small village named Vidos on it. Then a main road out of the city to the west was put through here and people began to build houses near the road. Most were built illegally. Today there are 237,000 crammed into a tight mass of cheap apartment blocks. The district was the site of the 2008 Istanbul bombings
.
or Bağcılar
, but still consist of narrow streets lined with six or seven-storey apartment buildings with no space between them. The difference is that the buildings are slightly better-maintained and there are more shops in the streets. But still standards of living are low.
Other parts of Güngören are faceless, nameless poorly-lit muddy roads lined with factories. Crime is a problem. Certainly the industrial estates are not welcoming after dark.
Lately, the municipality has started to improve the infrastructure, and has extended the tram
from Zeytinburnu
to improve the transportation in and out of the district.
featuring a "red neck" comedy character portrayed as residing in the district, Güngören is a district where educated and intellectual people live. It is not right to associate Güngören with an impolite character who does not know any manners, he continued before stating that the council would take action to prevent the district from being mentioned in a fourth film in the series.
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...
. It is located near the district of Bakırköy
Bakirköy
This article is about a neighbourhood in IstanbulBakırköy is a neighborhood, municipality and district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey. The quarter is densely populated, has a residential character and is inhabited by a middle class population...
. The mayor is Şakir Yücel Karaman (AKP
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
).
History
Güngören is hard to distinguish from its neighbouring districts in the industrial area north of the E5 highway, districts such as Merter or the poorer parts of BahçelievlerBahçelievler
Bahçelievler is a large middle class residential suburb of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It is accessible from the E-5 Highway that runs from the Istanbul airport to the Asian side of the city, covers 5% of Istanbul's land area and is home to over 570,000 people...
. Like them it has seen a rapid and uncontrolled influx of migrants from Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
since the 1950s. In 1955 this was an open space with a small village named Vidos on it. Then a main road out of the city to the west was put through here and people began to build houses near the road. Most were built illegally. Today there are 237,000 crammed into a tight mass of cheap apartment blocks. The district was the site of the 2008 Istanbul bombings
2008 Istanbul bombings
The 2008 Istanbul bombings occurred on July 27, 2008 when two explosions hit a busy shopping street in the Güngören district of Istanbul, killing seventeen people, five of them children, and injuring 154. The attacks occurred at 9:45 p.m. local time, 18:45 UTC, on a pedestrian street closed to...
.
Güngören today
The housing districts of Güngören are slightly older and better established than other districts of 1980s migrants to the city, such as EsenlerEsenler
Esenler is a district of Istanbul, Turkey, on its European side. Esenler is mainly densely packed, working class residential in the midst of its industrial neighbouring districts of Gaziosmanpaşa, Güngören and Bağcılar...
or Bağcılar
Bagcilar
Bağcılar is a working class suburban district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is located behind Bahçelievler on the European side of the city, between the two major ring roads, the TEM and the E5...
, but still consist of narrow streets lined with six or seven-storey apartment buildings with no space between them. The difference is that the buildings are slightly better-maintained and there are more shops in the streets. But still standards of living are low.
Other parts of Güngören are faceless, nameless poorly-lit muddy roads lined with factories. Crime is a problem. Certainly the industrial estates are not welcoming after dark.
Lately, the municipality has started to improve the infrastructure, and has extended the tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
from Zeytinburnu
Zeytinburnu
Zeytinburnu is a working class neighbourhood, municipality and district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, on the shore of the Marmara Sea just outside the walls of the ancient city, beyond the fortress of Yedikule...
to improve the transportation in and out of the district.
Reaction to Recep İvedik
We are uneasy that our district is being mentioned by a character like İvedik, proclaimed Abdullah Yılmaz, president of the Youth Council for Güngören District, in response to the release of the film Recep İvedik 3Recep İvedik 3
Recep İvedik 3 is a 2010 Turkish comedy film, directed by Togan Gökbakar, which stars Şahan Gökbakar as an oafish character who is attempting to combat depression following the death of his grandmother. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , is the highest grossing...
featuring a "red neck" comedy character portrayed as residing in the district, Güngören is a district where educated and intellectual people live. It is not right to associate Güngören with an impolite character who does not know any manners, he continued before stating that the council would take action to prevent the district from being mentioned in a fourth film in the series.