Beşiktaş

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about a district in Istanbul. For the sports club, see Beşiktaş J.K.

District location in Istanbul

Beşiktaş Square

Beşiktaş (pronounced /bɛʃiktɑʃ/ or 'Besh-ik-tash') is a metropolitan district of Istanbul, Turkey located on the European side of the city, by the coast of the Bosphorus.

Beşiktaş district council administers a number of key locations running up the Bosphorus on the European side (from Dolmabahçe Palace up to Bebek) and the land on the hills behind these settlements. Thus, the district includes some of Istanbul's best-known spots, such as Arnavutköy, Bebek, Etiler, Levent (all parts), Ortaköy, Ulus, and Yıldız.

Beşiktaş has a population of 190,813 according to 2000 census, and the district covers an area of 21 km² (8 sq mi), making it one of the smallest districts of Istanbul.

[edit] Name

The name literally means "cradle-stone" in Turkish; "beşik" being "cradle" and "taş" being "stone". There are Byzantine records of a church here that carried a name which meant the same thing in Greek; Kounopetra (cradle-stone); and it would have been built in honor of a relic, a stone reportedly taken from the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The stone was later removed to Hagia Sophia and disappeared during the Fourth Crusade, possibly to be transmogrified into wood and to be sold in Europe's brisk trade of relics. Nevertheless, the memory of the manger where Jesus was born lives on in the Turkish name of Beşiktaş. ^[1]

Another theory of the origin of the current name Beşiktaş is that it has mutated from Beştaş (meaning "five stones"), referring to the pillars to which ships were moored in the time of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha.

[edit] History

Memorial of Hayreddin Barbarossa

The Bosphorus has been settled for a long, long time and there are many places of historical interest. This stretch of the Bosphorus shore is slightly sheltered from the strong north-easterly winds that bring storms to Istanbul and thus ships have always been moored here. Indeed in Greek and Byzantine times the area was called Diplokionion, meaning 'double pillar' in Greek.

In ancient times the villages on the Bosphorus shore were isolated communities in the forest that lined the water-side. The Bosphorus however was prominent in the history and mythology of the ancient Greeks, and villages like Beşiktaş would have had their place in traditional tales such as Jason and the Argonauts. In the Byzantine era churches and a monastery were built and the tradition of having a summer palace on the Bosphorus was begun by the Byzantines with their Ayios Mamas palace complex. The Bosphorus settlements however, being outside the city walls, were vulnerable to raiders from the Black Sea coasts and little of this architecture or the statuary that would have decorated it so gloriously has survived.

In the Ottoman period, once the emperors had established control of the Black Sea coasts the Ottoman navy was docked in the Bosphorus and the Bosphorus villages became safe and attractive again. One man in particular, the legendary sailor Barbarossa, built his palace and mosque in Beşiktaş, making it his home. By now Beşiktaş was an established Bosphorus crossing for caravans trading across Anatolia and along the Silk Road, and of course for the great Ottoman armies.

This coast was of course very attractive to the Ottoman rulers, who built hunting lodges and then great palaces in the area, and the Beşiktaş district contains some of the most important and attractive Ottoman buildings. The area was thus the scene of great intrigues of the late Ottoman period such as the dethronement of Sultan Abdulaziz at Dolmabahçe Palace in a coup in 1876 and the announcement of the founding of the Ottoman parliament in 1908, and the deposal of Sultan Abdul Hamid II at Yıldız Palace in 1909.

Following the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1924, the Ottoman ruling family was deported and the palaces and mansions along the coast were emptied out. Some were given to new government ministries, some used as schools and other public buildings, other were pulled down.

[edit] BJK

BJK İnönü Stadium

The district also gives its name to Turkey's oldest sports club, Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club), founded in 1903. The club's football team is one of the top three in Turkey and has won 13 Turkish Super League titles and participated five times (1997-98, 2000-01, 2003-04, 2007-08, 2008-09) in the UEFA Champions League. The club's 33,000-seater BJK İnönü Stadium is on the Bosphorus seafront just before the centre of Beşiktaş and on match days the area is very crowded with football fans. The Kazan Pub in the centre of Beşiktaş is the traditional raucous pre-match meeting place.

The football team wears black-and-white shirts and are nicknamed the "Black Eagles". The club is widely supported by the working class and also has earned fame with their notoriously faithful fans who broke the volume record with 132 desibel.

Beşiktaş JK also has basketball, volleyball, and other team-sports branches.

BJK Akatlar Arena is the home of the basketball team.