Kandilli/Κανδύλλι

Kandilli (Κανδύλλι/Kandylli) is a neighborhood on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. In ancient times it was known as “Ekhia” or “Ekhaia,” and was referred to as “Broktoi” and “Prookhtio” during the Byzantine era. In 1872, historian Dr. Philipp Anton Dethier called the neighborhood “Perirhoon” due to the “danger posed by the currents at the shore.” The current name of “Kandilli,” however, is said to be based on the torch situated at the top of the hill which was used to light up the shore to protect ships and people against the dangerous currents.

View of the Kandilli shore from the hills. (Source: Kandilli'de Tarih by M. Celalettin Atasoy)

A seaside mansion owned by the Greek shipping magnate Licardopulos in the early twentieth century. (Source: Kandilli'de Tarih by M. Celalettin Atasoy)

The neighborhood has been historically diverse, settled by Turks, Armenians, Jews, and a small Greek Orthodox community. Beginning from the nineteenth century, Kandilli was a residential neighborhood for the Ottoman statesmen. The architecture stands out with numerous mansions on the waterfront, and other houses on hills that stretch up to meet some of the most densely forested areas of the city. At the end of the nineteenth century, the mansions were said to have been owned predominantly by Greek Orthodox, Armenian, and other Christian residents of Kandilli. In the same years, four churches were active in the neighborhood, three of which belonged to Armenians and the fourth one to the Greek Orthodox. A few decades later, in 1914, about 200 non-Muslim residents were recorded in a total of fifty houses in the neighborhood. Around the same time, a fifth church dedicated to the French Catholic was built. Of all five churches, the Surp Yegodasan Arakelotz Armenian Church and the Metamorphosis Greek Orthodox Church are still active. There is also a Greek Orthodox cemetery near the Metamorphosis Church.

Metamorphosis Greek Orthodox Church

The exterior of the Metamorphosis Church (Source: Kültür Envanteri, photographed by İnanç Kıran in 2023)

As the name suggests, Metamorphosis Greek Orthodox Church is dedicated to the metamorphosis of Christ. While there is no explicit source that firmly dates the church’s original construction, its rebuilding in 1810 is documented. Clues to its earlier presence are found in the inscriptions on-site. The churchyard contains several graves and tombstones, as well as a house once used by a church keeper. Adjacent to the complex is a holy spring bearing the same name as the church, and above it stands a bell tower that was added to the complex at a later date than the church’s initial build. There is also a Greek Orthodox cemetery associated with the church.

Surp Yegodasan Arakelotz Armenian Church

The current church building was erected in 1846, however, inscriptions from the church indicate that the Armenian community in Kandilli had a place to worship as early as five years before the Surp Yegodasan Arakelotz Church was built. It remains unknown whether a previous church stood on the same site. Since its initial build, the church has undergone several repairs and renovations— the most recent one being in 2012, after which the new structure was consecrated by Patriarchal Vicar Archbishop Aram Ateşyan.

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References

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