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The mouth of the Bosphorus has always been a location to spark the imagination, and in ancient times was a place of sacrifice. Blood was spilt to petition Zeus and Poseidon for a safe journey across the treacherous Black Sea, without which no one would venture into those stormy waters. As well as being one of the most strategically important crossing points in history, the Bosphorus itself has always been rich in fish and opportunities for plundering the even richer communities around the Marmara, and Beykoz has been settled by wave on wave of invaders from around and beyond the Black Sea: Thracians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and finally Turks. In the Ottoman period, the land behind Beykoz was open country and forest used for hunting and an escape from the city by the Sultans and their court. The hunting lodge at Küçüksu, and the fountains and mosques that decorate the villages along the coast date from this era. Of the three most distinctive buildings in the district of Beykoz two are older and one is more recent than the Ottoman hunting heyday. The castle at Anadolu Kavağı dates to the Byzantine period and the castle of Anadolu Hisarı was constructed by the Ottomans during the build up to the conquest in order to secure the Bosphorus for the Turkish armies. The prominent white tower on the hill above Kanlıca is Hidiv Kasrı, built in 1907 as the holiday home of the Khedive of Egypt. Along the coast are some of the most expensive houses in the city and many politicians and famous people in Turkey have villas here. Some of the grandest of the huge wooden Ottoman seaside houses called 'yalı' can be found from Anadolu Hisarı up to Beykoz itself. As well as the obvious attraction of living by the water the large areas of forest parkland on hillside along much of this coast make the Beykoz waterfront a peaceful retreat from the city. And beyond Beykoz there are large areas of forested countryside where the people of Istanbul come for picnics at the weekend. The upper Bosphorus villages of Anadolu Kavağı, Anadolu Feneri and Poyrazköy, the Black Sea village of Riva, and the inland around and between Cumhuriyet Köyü, Ali Bahadır, Değirmendere, Akbaba, and Polonezköy are all popular retreats. There are a number of tombs of Muslim saints and holy places that also attract visitors. On the hillsides above the Bosphorus however, Beykoz has always suffered from uncontrolled development and large areas above the Bosphorus are covered in illegal housing, where mostly recent migrants to the city live. Areas like Çubuklu and Paşabahçe are continually struggling to put in infrastructure to keep up with the housing being built. Due to this migration and some industry, particualarly the glass factory at Paşabahçe (now closed), Beykoz has had a working-class character unseen behind the luxury of the Bosphorus waterfront. Now the illegal building is happening in the forests further back from the sea, particularly in the areas of Çavuşbaşı and Elmalı. This countryside is scattered with little villages, all of which are expanding now more roads are being put through. Although the Bosphorus has historically been teeming with fish, Beykoz does not have a fishing community. The fish restaurants at Anadolu Kavağı have sprung up to serve day trippers from the Bosphorus tours by ferryboat. |
