Avcılar, Istanbul

Avcılar
District
Location of Avcılar in Istanbul
Avcılar Location of Avcılar in Istanbul
Coordinates: 40°58′45″N 28°43′17″E / 40.97917°N 28.72139°E / 40.97917; 28.72139Coordinates: 40°58′45″N 28°43′17″E / 40.97917°N 28.72139°E / 40.97917; 28.72139
Country	Turkey
City	Istanbul
Government
• Mayor	Turan Hançerli (CHP)
Area [1]
• District	39.23 km2 (15.15 sq mi)
Population  (2012)[2]
• District	395,274
• District density	10,000/km2 (26,000/sq mi)
Website	www.avcilar.bel.tr www.avcilar.gov.tr

Avcılar is a district of Istanbul, Turkey, out of town on the European side of the city, just to the west of the Küçükçekmece inlet of the Sea of Marmara.

History[]

The Marmara coast road bridges the mouth of the inlet, always an important route in wartime. Therefore, when preparing the conquest of Istanbul the Ottoman forces were keen to populate the Küçükçekmece area with the Turks, the Turkish presence in the area dates from this period.

The road from Istanbul to Europe has become increasingly important ever since and by the time of the population exchange with Greece at the founding of the Turkish Republic there were 50 Greek families in the village, the property they vacated was then used as a military depot. Little is left of this history; the church had long been converted to a mosque and was pulled down in 1977 for a new mosque to be built; fountains and ruins have disappeared. There is some remaining Ottoman architecture including a hunting lodge belonging to the sultans, (the name Avcılar means 'hunters' in Turkish) because actual hunters used to live in this area to protect the villages and some traditional farmhouses.

Avcılar today[]

The magazine Bayan Yani is created here and it has had resistance from the authorities. Their offices have been visited by people carrying petrol cans. 150 media workers have been held under arrest in Turkey including the cartoonist who is held in a location near to Avcilar.^[3]

Istanbul University[]

One of Istanbul University's campuses is sited in Avcılar, housing the faculties of engineering, business management, sports and veterinary medicine. The campus is far away from the Anatolian Side of Istanbul and transportation was very complicated and difficult before the introduction of the Metrobus system. There is parkland in the campus and around Lake Küçükçekmece.

Earthquake vulnerability[]

This district was badly hit during 1999 earthquake. A major fault-line follows the Marmara shore and Avcılar is built on low-lying sandy soil, some of its landfill, right on this shore. This and the fact that the buildings are tall and were very cheaply built make it a particularly vulnerable area. Buildings damaged in 1999 have been repaired but an earthquake centered nearer to Istanbul will damage this area severely and destroy it.

References[]

• "Information on Avcılar district" (in Turkish). Governorship of Istanbul. 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-08-16.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avcılar.

• District governor's official website (in Turkish)
• District municipality's official website (in Turkish)