Balat, Fatih

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Balat houses

Or-Ahayim Hospital in Balat

Balat is the traditional Jewish quarter in the Fatih district of Istanbul. It is located on the European side of Istanbul, in the old city on the historic peninsula, on the western bank of the Golden Horn.

The name Balat is probably derived from Greek palation (palace), from Latin palatium, after the nearby Palace of Blachernae. In the present day, the ruins of Poli Yashan ("Old City"), a former Jewish synagogue, are in this neighborhood. Some of the congregation of Poli Yashan went on to found the Poli Hadash, the latter name being a mix of Greek and Hebrew terms that means "New City".^[1]

History[]

The Bulgarian St. Stephen Church, also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church

Balat first became home to a large Jewish population in the late 15th century, when Sultan Bayezid II offered citizenship to Jewish and Muslim peoples fleeing Inquisitions in Spain and Africa.^[2] At its peak, Balat was home to 18 synagogues, though only two are still in use today: Ahrida Synagogue and Yanbol Synagogue. Or-Ahayim Hospital, opened in 1887, was originally set up for Balat's Jewish population, but today serves the general public.^[3]

Although often referred to as the 'Jewish quarter' of Istanbul, Balat was historically home to a wide variety of ethnicities, cultures and religions.^[4] The famous Bulgarian Iron Church is located in the district, and there was traditionally a sizeable Armenian population too.^[5] The district's proximity to St. George's Cathedral and the Ecumenial Patriarchate of Constantinople also meant that there was a large Greek Orthodox (Rûm) population. However, Balat today is overwhelmingly Muslim, with most minority populations having left the district or having been forced to leave as a result of the Armenian genocide, Greek genocide, anti-Greek riots and expulsions throughout the 20th century.^[6]

European travellers moving through the area from the 17th century onwards recorded Balat as being incredibly poor and unhygienic, though Bornes-Varol has argued that these reports may have not been true reflections of Balat as a whole, noting that while Balat was poor, travellers' accounts were largely based on their travels through Karabaş, the very poorest area of Balat.^[7]

In 1985, Balat was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the Historic Areas of Istanbul, and in the late 1990s and early 2000s was the subject of a number of controversial renovation and revitalisation projects.^[8][9]

See also[]

• Ahrida Synagogue of Istanbul
• Yanbol Synagogue
• Karataş, Izmir
• Bulgarian St. Stephen Church

Coordinates: 41°01′58″N 28°56′44″E / 41.0328°N 28.9456°E / 41.0328; 28.9456

References[]

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