Bostancı


Bostancı is a neighborhood in the municipality and district of Kadıköy, Istanbul Province, Turkey.

Description

Bostancı is on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, on the shore of the Sea of Marmara. As the easternmost neighborhood of the Kadıköy district; it borders Suadiye and Kozyatağı to the west, İçerenköy to the north, and Altıntepe to the east.
The population of Bostancı is 33,638.
A predominantly residential area, Bostancı is an important transport interchange with stops on the Marmaray and M4 Metro lines and ferries leaving for the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. It is generally considered the starting point of Bağdat Avenue, the major shopping street that runs as far as Kadıköy.
Because of its position on the water, Bostancı has several fish restaurants. It is also popular as a place to stop off for late night fast food. Several places stay open all night serving people returning from the bars and clubs on Bağdat Avenue.

History

In the Byzantine period, Bostancı was probably called Poleatikon. Poleatikon was one of the places where the ceremonial reception of an emperor returning from a military campaign or journey in Anatolia could take place. There was a church around where the Bostancı train station is now and a port at the Bostancı or Çamaşırcı Stream.
When the Umayyad forces besieged Constantinople in 718, their navy took refuge in the port here.
During the Ottoman period, the main road connecting the Istanbul to Anatolia passed through Bostancı, which was the eastern border of the city. A bostancı outpost was established at the Bostancıbaşı Bridge to control entrance to the city, the bostancıbaşı being the official responsible for security and maintenance, first for Istanbul palaces and gardens, and later for other imperial palaces and fields. The neighborhood received its name from the Bostancı Guild stationed at the bridge.
Until the mid-19th century, Bostancı and other neighborhoods along the Marmara shore were known for bağ and bostan, providing fruits and vegetables to the city of Istanbul. The population of the area consisted mostly of gardeners and fishers.
With the development of the Anatolian Railway in the 1870s, upper-class Muslims, Ottoman minorities, and foreigners began building summer houses along the line, including in Bostancı, and the neighborhoods along the line gradually became less rural and more suburban. For Bostancı, one of the most significant of these summer houses was the mansion of Sadi Bey, an accountant in the Ministry of Public Works. A train station was built in 1910. A wooden steamboat pier was built in 1888 and a ferry station in 1912-13. A mosque and primary school were built in 1913. The area of Bostancı west of Bostancı Stream was established as a mahalle in 1914, while the area east of the stream continued to be part of the kaza of Kartal.

Historic sites

Historic sites of Bostancı include

Transport

From Bostancı, five of the Princes' Islands - Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada, Büyükada, and Sivriada - can be seen. Bostancı is also an important interchange for the Asian side of Istanbul with copious city buses, sea buses, commuter ferries, trains and dolmuşes. All intercity trains heading for Anatolia stop at Bostancı railway station, which is opposite the Bostancı pier.
Bus system
Metro
;Ferryboats
Inner city
Intercity
Suburban train