Beşiktaş

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

Beşiktaş Square

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

Beşiktaş district council administers a number of communities running up the Bosphorus on the European side (from Dolmabahçe Palace up to Bebek) and the land on the hills behind these settlements. The district includes some of İstanbul's best-known locations, such as Arnavutköy, Balmumcu, Bebek, Etiler, (parts of) Levent, Ortaköy, Ulus, and Yıldız. Beşiktaş has a population of 190,813 (2000 census).

History

Turkish Naval Museum

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 Diklopion, meaning 'two pillars'. Furthermore one 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 Paşa.

Nevertheless, 'Beşiktaş' literally means 'cradle-stone' in Turkish; 'beşik' being 'cradle' and 'taş' being 'stone', and there is an alternative story about how the area got this rather absurd name: this being that a church was built above a relic, a stone said to have been taken from the stable in Nazareth where Jesus was born (the stone being later removed to Hagia Sophia in the city). Apparently there are Byzantine records of this church, named 'konapetri' (cradle-stone ).

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 Abdulhamid 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.

BJK

File:Besiktas JK Inönü Stadium.jpg

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 twelve Turkish Super League titles and participated four times (1997-98, 2000-01, 2003-04 and 2007-08) in the UEFA Champions League. The club's 32,000-seater BJK İnönü Stadium is on the Bosphorus sea-front just before the centre of Beşiktaş and on match days the area is 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.

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

BJK Akatlar Arena is the home of the basketball team.

Çarşı

An activity against nuclear power plants from Çarşı and Greenpeace

Çarşı (means Bazaar in Turkish) is the biggest fan group of Beşiktaş JK. It took its name from the Beşiktaş Bazaar. The core of the group is from the Bazaar, working class and university students. The district of Beşiktaş has the highest amount of universities per km² in Turkey. Before every match, the Carşı Group meets at the Kazan Pub, and walks all the way from Beşiktaş, through the historic Dolmabahçe Avenue, to the Inönü Stadium. The group is mostly made up of left-wing supporters. When the former prime minister of Turkey, Bülent Ecevit (Democratic Left), died, the group blackened its website for a day as a tribute of respect for the former prime minister.

Çarşı is also known for its sensitivity to reflect public opinions and preoccupations. They have performed several activities or protest such as protesting the famous Susurluk affair (where mafia-government relations were laid to public eyes by a traffic incident in Susurluk) by turning the stadium lights off, supporting Greenpeace by helping out for a non-nuclear protest flag hang off the stadium, protesting global warming, supporting democratic leaders and icons.

Sister cities and twin towns

• Trenčín, Slovakia
• Erlangen, Germany
• Brooklyn, New York, USA

External links

• [1]
• Municipality of Beşiktaş Web Site
• Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü Home Page
• Template:Tr icon Beşiktaş J.K. Websites & News
• Besiktas AcademY Multimedia Home Page
• Fans of Besiktas - Videoblog
• Çarşı Group's Official Web Site
• Besiktas Jimnastik Club Official Home Page