Kadıköy

Lore & Background

Kadıköy was known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon, the 'city of the blind'. The settlement has been under control of many empires, finally being taken by the Ottomans before the fall of Constantinople. At first, Chalcedon was rural, but with time it urbanized. Kadıköy separated from the Üsküdar district in 1928. The name Kadıköy literally translates to 'Village of the Judge,' referring to Istanbul's first judge, Hızır Bey, who was granted the area's jurisdiction after the 1453 Ottoman conquest.

Reader's Guide

Kadıköy is a residential and commercial area that, with its numerous bars, cinemas and bookshops, is the liberal cultural centre of the Anatolian side of Istanbul. It contains Bağdat Avenue, one of the most significant shopping streets in Turkey, spanning the entirety of the district. The central town encompasses only the Rasimpaşa, Osmanağa, and Caferağa neighbourhoods. Outside the centre, calmer seaside settlements such as Caddebostan and Fenerbahçe are found. The most populated neighbourhoods apart from the core are Göztepe and Kozyatağı. Kadıköy ranked 1st place in Human Development Index out of the 188 most populated districts in Turkey.

Did You Know?

• The fourth ecumenical church council, the Council of Chalcedon, was held there in 451 AD.
• Kadıköy has the oldest mosque in Istanbul, built almost a century before the conquest of Constantinople in 1453.