Last updated on .
Çengelköy is a pleasant village on the Asian side of the Bosporus in Istanbul. It’s located in the Üsküdar district between Beylerbeyi and Kuleli.
Introduction to Çengelköy
During the Byzantine period, Çengelköy was known as Sofianí (Σοφιανή) after a palace built in the area by Justin II for Empress Sophia. Many mansions were built there during the late Ottoman period when it was one of the most exclusive places to live. The area was mostly Greek until the 1960s.
The current name of the village may derive from Çengeloğlu Tahir Pasha, a 19th century Ottoman admiral who built a mansion and mosque in the area. It may also come from the Byzantine Monastery of Syngellou (Τα Συγκέλλου).
Today, Çengelköy is a mostly residential neighborhood has a good mix of modern and historic wooden Ottoman buildings. There are lots of little restaurants and shops along the main road and alleyways with outdoor cafés. You can also get great views of the Bosporus Bridge from the pier.
Getting to Çengelköy
The easiest way to get to Çengelköy is through Üsküdar. Take a ferry to Üsküdar and walk to the Üsküdar Cami Önü stop (in front of the mosque across the street from the ferry terminal). Hop on pretty much any bus with a number 15 until you reach the Çengelköy stop. You can also take a dolmuş going to Beykoz and ask the driver to let you out at Çengelköy – it’s much faster than the bus.
If you’re on the European side, there’s a ferry service on the Istanbul City Ferry Lines (İstanbul Şehir Hatları) from either Arnavutköy or Bebek to Çengelköy every few hours throughout the day.
St. George Greek Orthodox Church
On the main road across from the pier, there’s the St. George Greek Orthodox Church (Ἅγιος Γεώργιος Τσεγκέλκιοϊ). It was built in 1908 but dates back to 1830. The church may have been built on the site of the Byzantine Monastery of Metanoias, which was built by Empress Theodora in the 6th century for repentant sinful women.
Vahdettin Pavilion
At the top of a hill above Çengelköy is the Vahdettin Pavilion (Vahdettin Köşkü), an Ottoman mansion situated in a large grove. There are three other buildings on the property: the Köçeoğlu Pavilion (Köçeoğlu Köşkü), the Kadın Efendi Pavilion (Kadın Efendi Köşkü), and the Ağalar Pavilion (Ağalar Köşkü). All of these historic buildings were originally built in the 19th century and designed by French-Ottoman architect Alexander Vallaury (1850-1921). The property covers 65,000 square meters (700,000 square feet).
The first building constructed was the Köçeoğlu Pavilion, which was named after the Armenian family that had once owned the property. The property was later purchased by the Ottoman royal family and became the home of Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin Efendi (1885-1949), a son of Sultan Abdülhamid II. It was later handed down to his half-brother Şehzade Mehmet Vahdettin Efendi, the future Sultan Mehmet VI, for who the complex is named.
In 1988, the buildings were allocated as a rest home for the Prime Minister but the restoration project was abandoned in 1993 with the death of Turgut Özal (1927-1993). The project resumed between 2012 and August 2014 and the complex now serves as an Istanbul office of the President of Turkey as well as a state guest house. The work, however, proved to be controversial as it drastically altered its historical and architectural integrity. The buildings were demolished and rebuilt with utter disregard for their original design. Hundreds of trees in the grove were also cut down and a concrete wall was built around the property, dramatically changing its appearance. The best views of the Vahdettin Pavilion are from a boat on the Bosporus.
