Arnavutköy/Μέγα Ρεύμα
- yasmineakaki
- Jul 17, 2023
- 4 min read
Located on the European side of the Bosphorus Strait, sits the neighborhood of Arnavutköy. Though at the time called Hestai, it was founded by Megaran colonists in the fourth century. Its current name, Arnavutköy, means “Albanian Village,” referring to a relocation program of Albanians to the neighborhood by Sultan Mehmet II following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. While at the time a distinct cultural group, many of these Albanians began to assimilate into the larger Greek populace. In the following centuries, Greek culture flourished in Arnavutköy, which the Greeks would call “Μέγα Ρεύμα'' or the “Great Current.”
Arnavutköy, alongside with other coastal neighborhoods, was known for its yalı, or a type of seaside mansion. Each yalı had its own unique design - its balconies and porticos displaying the wealth and power of the Phanariots, the Greek Orthodox elite of the Ottoman Empire. These yalı were mostly inhabited by the upper echelons of the neighborhood, many of whom were connected to the Jerusalem Patriarchate and served as state officials, merchants, and bankers. While in the early 20th century brighter pastoral colors became popular, before this period in order to avoid drawing the ire of their Turkish neighbors Greek residents painted their yalı dark tones of brown and gray to give off a low profile impression. However, despite their somber facades, the inside of each yalı was ornately decorated.
For the majority of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the economic makeup of the neighborhood mostly consisted of shopkeepers, small business owners including tavern owners, and strawberry farmers. Arnavutköy was characterized by its greenery known for its fragrant strawberry fields, orchards, and the flowering gardens of homes and shops. The neighborhood took great pride in the
Ottoman Strawberry, which was grown there. This crop brought one of the first fruit canning factories in Turkey. So important was the strawberry that it had its own festival, celebrated to call in a bountiful harvest. Beyond the strawberry fields, Arnavutköy was still a very green neighborhood with gardens and parks associated with Persian aesthetics and cultures of “pleasure and picnics.”
Modern day Arnavutköy (Source: Kultur Envanteri 2023)
Landmarks:
(Source: Kultur Envanteri 2023)
Churches
Though the church is still in use, the original structure of the Taxiarchis (ταξιάρχης) Church was destroyed before the conquest of the Byzantine Empire due to the skirmishes surrounding the city. Over its long duree as a landmark of the neighborhood, the church had to be repaired multiple times: being lit aflame two times throughout the eighteenth century and destroyed in an earthquake in 1894.
The Profiti Ilias (Προφήτη Ηλία) Church rests on a hill surrounded by trees. Inside it holds the Ilias Ayazma, a water known for great healing properties. The name is very common for Greek Orthodox churches built atop hills. Ilias refers to the prophet Elijah; when Christianity became the main religion, these temples to the Prophet Elijah were often built on the same place as temples to Apollo due to a cultural connection with Elias and Apollo.
Mosque
A winding road set against the backdrop of Akintiburnu leads up to the Tevfikiye Mosque. Small and rectangular in shape, the Mosque was located next to the barracks, now a police station, that was charged with overseeing the community.
Despite the few Muslims living in Arnavutköy at the time, the mosque was commissioned by the Sultan in 1821 and now still serves the mostly Turkish Muslim community of Arnavutköy to this day.
Schools
Established in 1858, the American College for Girls was a Protestant evangelist school with the mission to redefine the role of a Christian women’s college within the Ottoman Empire during the Westernization process of the nineteenth century. The school has always been open to children of all nationalities and has seemingly served as a beacon of diversity for the community.
Robert College was an ultra selective, all-male private high school established in 1863 near the Rumeli Castle by American philanthropists and missionaries, making it the oldest operational foreign school founded by Americans. The school emphasized instilling leadership values into its mostly Armenian and Greek students and offered courses in both English and Turkish with other language elective courses in. It was renamed Boğaziçi University upon merger with the American College for Girls in 1971.
Fountains
Arnavutköy boasts a few historic fountains such as the İzzet Mehmet Pasha which is the oldest of the fountains, built in 1791 behind the Tevfikiye Mosque. The other notable fountain was built in 1804 on the Akıntıburnu, a seaside walkway. The fountain pictured on the right is called the Indian Red Crescent fountain and reads: "To our Ottoman brothers in the Battle of the Balkans. from India to help General of the Indian Red Crescent Committee the spirit is a heirloom."
References
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2023.
Arslan, Faruk. n.d. “Robert College.” Wikipedia. Accessed 2023.
English High School'lular Derneği. 2023. English High School Alumni: Home.
Ertuğ, Nejdet. “Maritime Transportation in Ottoman Istanbul.” In From Antiquity to the 21st
Century: History of Istanbul. Vol. 6.
“Home Page.” n.d. Robert College. Accessed 2023.
Mills, Mary. n.d. “American College for Girls records, 1880s-1979 | Rare Book & Manuscript
Library | Columbia University Libraries Finding Aids.” Columbia University Finding Aids.
Accessed 2023.
“The Oral History of Arnavutkoy-Arnavutköy.” 2021. Megma Revma Biography.
Ortodokslar Toplulugu. 2014. “Arnavutköy Taksiarhis Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi.” Ortodokslar
Topluluğu.
Centuries.” In From Antiquity to the 21st Century: History of Istanbul. Vol. 9.
Tekeli, İlhan. “Modernizing Istanbul.” In From Antiquity to the 21st Century: History of
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