Kadıköy is a district of İstanbul on its Asian side and it is surrounded by Marmara Sea on the west and south, Üsküdar on the north, Ataşehir and Maltepe on the east. The ancient name of Kadıköy was Khalkedon and it is believed to mean “The City of the Blind” according to the myths on the foundation of ancient Istanbul. The myth goes on to tell the story that a clan, which needs to find a settlement, asks an oracle for advice. The oracle tells them to move to the lands across the land of the blind. When the clan arrives in what is now historical İstanbul, they notice that there is a settlement on the other side of the Bosphorus. They think the people across there should be blind, since they didn’t prefer to settle on this side in spite of the advantages and the beauty of the place and decide to settle there. Thus, today’s Kadıköy was named “Khalkedon”. It is believed that the area is renamed Kadıköy (Village of the Kadı) since the administration of it was given to the Kadı (Judge) of İstanbul, Hızır Bey after the conquest.
Kadıköy has a longer history than İstanbul. In the Fikirtepe excavations between 1942 and 1952, tools and human skeletons were found dating back to 3000 BC. Other findings include fish, dog, sheep and goat bones, stone hammers, ceramic and stone weights, bronze artifacts, pearls and chalcuite artifacts. Phoenician oil-lamps, vase remains, a statue of a bull, a terra cotta bearded human head and the bronze tablet with the Khalkedon inscriptions on it during the excavations in Moda Point.
Kadıköy was captured by the Ottomans during the reign of Orhan Bey. During the administration of the first governor Hızır Bey Çelebi, there were 800 houses in Kadıköy. Evliya Çelebi in his famous Seyahatname tells that in the 7th century there were one Muslim neighborhood, seven Greek neighborhoods, as well as 600 gardens and operational windmills in Kadıköy. There is Şahkulu Bektashi Order Lodge in Merdiven Village and Gözcübaba Lodge in Göztepe. After the 18th century, the district expanded and new neighborhoods with summer houses were created. During the constitutional period Kızıltoprak became a permanent settlement and Fenerbahçe was inhabited during Abdülhamit II’s reign. New mansions and apartment blocks were built here. Kadıköy became a formal district of İstanbul in 1930 after changing administrative status for a few times. Kadıköy used to have two townships: Erenköy and Kızıltoprak. Then the central township was added to these two.
The opening of the Bosphorus Bridge in 1973 strengthened the connection between the two sides of İstanbul, favoring Kadıköy in the new balance of population. It became more attractive to live in the new apartment blocks in the sparsely populated areas of Kadıköy after the transportation between the Asian and European sides became much easier than before. The opening of the coastal road between Kadıköy and Pendik after 1984 meant the urbanization of the last unoccupied pieces of land in the seaside. Küçükbakkalköy, to the north of Kadıköy, preserved its rural settlements until the 1980s.
Historical places, temples and important sights
Şehremaneti (Ottoman Municipality Building)
When the construction of Şehremaneti building started in 1913, Kadıköy looked a lot more different than today. The sea line reached as far as today’s post office building and the docks extending towards the Mühürdar direction were named after the well-known family of Galata bankers, Tübini. There were also apartments for rent along the coast, owned by the Tübini family. Naturally, Mustafa III Mosque was also on the seaside. Afterwards, the sea was filled similar to the practice in Dolmabahçe and a new square called “Kumluk” was created. Then, the Armenian architect Terziyan built Şehremaneti on this square (now called Kadıköy Square). The building has witnessed countless political changes and important events and serves today as the place for the city council meetings of the Kadıköy Municipality. One of the halls in the building is used as the assembly hall and the other one as an exhibition hall.
The statue was sculpted by Isidore Bonheur in 1864 in Paris. When the Germans defeated the French, the statue was brought to İstanbul and given to Enver Pasha as a symbol of power by the German Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1917. The place of the statue was changed many times and eventually it was placed in front of Şehremaneti building in 1969. Afterwards, it was moved to its current place in 1976. It is considered as one of the symbols of Kadıköy.
Süreyya Opera House
The building was planned by Süreyya İlmen Pasha as an opera house and later it was built as a hall for opera, theater and ball; but it was mainly used as a movie theater for many years. After a restoration of 2 years by the Kadıköy Municipality, the building now serves as the first opera building on the Anatolian side and the sixth opera house in Turkey. Süreyya Pasha tells that he intended to plan a building that meets various social demands such as concerts, dancing, balls, weddings and so on. To accomplish this, he examined the famous opera houses in Europe. Thus, Süreyya Opera House was influenced from Théâtre des Champs Elysées in its foyer and from the theaters in Germany in its interior.
Notre Dame du Rosaire Church
This building complex comprising a school, a monastery and a church was built in 1895. The church stands on the historical site of Yeldeğirmeni. In 1913, the church had 20 nuns and 360 students. Today, the building is abandoned and a renovation project to use it as a cultural center has been prepared recently.