Üsküdar

Üsküdar
Help on coat of arms
View from the Bosporus to the Çamlıca Hill in Üsküdar
Basic data
Province (il) :	Istanbul
District ( ilçe ) :	Üsküdar
Coordinates :	41 ° 1 '  N , 29 ° 1'  E Coordinates: 41 ° 1 '0 "  N , 29 ° 1' 0"  E
Telephone code :	(+90) 212 (European part) (+90) 216 (Asian part)
Postal code :	34 xxx
License plate :	34
Structure and administration (as of 2016)
Mayor :	Hilmi Türkmen (AKP)
Website:	www.uskudar.bel.tr
Üsküdar district
Residents :	582,666 (2019)
Surface:	58 km²
Population density :	10,046 inhabitants per km²
Kaymakam :	Mustafa Guler
Website (Kaymakam):	www.uskudar.gov.tr

Üsküdar , formerly also known as Scutari ( Greek Σκουτάριον Skutàrion ), is the capital of the district of the same name in the Turkish province of Istanbul and a district on the Asian side of Istanbul .

history

Street scene in the Ottoman Scutari ( 1890s )

Istanbul about 550 years ago, Skutari (Chrysopolis) on the right

The place is probably in the 6th century BC. Was founded. In ancient times the place was called Chrysopolis ( Greek Χρυσόπολις, "golden city"), later Escutari, Skutarion or Scutari, from which the current name Üsküdar is derived. Chrysopolis was an ancient place on the east bank of the Bosporus across from Constantinople . Its port was of great importance in antiquity as in the Byzantine and Ottoman times as one of the most important crossings between Asia Minor and Europe.

Although it was called "the largest city in the West" by Emperor Justinian I , despite this name it was never a polis , but a part of the city of Chalcedon . The meaning of the name Chrysopolis could no longer be explained with certainty in ancient times. Some sources believe that it goes back to the fact that the Persians had a collection point for gold donations from the Greek cities here. More often, however, the explanation is that Chrysos was buried here .

On September 18, 324, Emperor Constantine the Great defeated Licinius in the battle of Chrysopolis with his fleet .

The Chrysopolis monastery is known because the former imperial secretary Maximus the Confessor entered there in 613/14 ( BBKL ) and 630 ( Stadlers Heiligenlexikon ) and was elected abbot. He stayed there until he had to flee from the Persians to North Africa in 626 and 640 respectively.

The Byzantine Emperor Michael III. (842–867) was buried in Chrysopolis, but then by Leon VI. transferred to Constantinople.

In 1003 the patriarch Sergios II banished Symeon, the disciples or the (new) theologian, to Chrysopolis, where he found himself in a dilapidated oratory , which St. Mary was consecrated. Even after his rehabilitation he stayed and built a new monastery there.

The Turkish 1st Army has its headquarters in the Selimiye Barracks (Selimiye Kışlası) in Üsküdar. The historic Armenian high school Surp Haç Ermeni Lisesi is also located here .

Üsküdar as the Asian part of Istanbul

Marmara University in Üsküdar

Today Üsküdar is a spacious residential town. The cityscape with old buildings is well preserved. Including old mosques, madrasas , Islamic buildings by sheikhs and tarikats, which are still in use. From a hill in the district, the Çamlıca Hill (Turkish Çamlıca Tepesi ), which can be recognized from a long way by the antenna systems on it, you have the most beautiful view of the whole city. The landmark of Üsküdar is the Maiden's Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi ) located in the Bosporus , a former lighthouse , which today houses a restaurant and a café.

Florence Nightingale worked in the Scutari Military Hospital during the Crimean War and established her reputation as the "Lady with the Lamp".

Istanbul's second bus station is located in the Harem district, which is adjacent to Selimiye. Mostly modern buses depart from here to almost all cities in the Anatolian part of Turkey.

Areas of Üsküdar are (from south to north) Selimiye, Harem, Kuzguncuk, Beylerbeyi , Çengelköy, (with the Vahdettin Pavilion ) Vaniköy and Kandilli (with the Adile Sultan Palace ).

Personalities

• Shivakiar Ibrahim (1876–1947), Queen of Egypt
• Saadet Sönmez (* 1972), social worker and politician (Die Linke), member of the state parliament in Hesse

literature

• George Long:  Chrysopolis . In: William Smith : Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London 1854.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.uskudar.bel.tr/tr/main/pages/sayilarla-uskudar/29

Web links

Commons : Üsküdar  - collection of images, videos and audio files