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Küçükçekmece is a district in Istanbul west of Atatürk International Airport that isn’t worth your time visiting. I’ll write about it anyway, but I won’t have much to say. When I visited with Isaac, we were in and out in 30 minutes.
The Lake
Küçükçekmece sits on a large, polluted lake that used to be a popular place to go swimming and fishing. It’s actually pretty relaxing to walk along the shore and out onto the pier, just don’t dip your feet into the toxic water.
The Town
The town itself is just another ugly, fast-growing Istanbul suburb. The main square has a few places to eat and have çay (tea).
The Bridge
The only attraction worth seeing is a minor work of the great Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan. It’s a small bridge he built in the 16th century. The bridge has been restored and looks nice, but still not worth the detour. If you want to see an amazing bridge that also happens to be a Sinan masterpiece, go to Büyükçekmece instead.
History
In ancient times, it was believed this site was the city of Rhegium (Ρήγιον), but in 2009 a lighthouse was found submerged in the lake and the site was re-identified as Vathonea (Βαθονέα). Τhere’s nothing left of that to see at the moment, but excavations are being carried out to verify the identification of the city.
Getting There
Getting to Küçükçekmece is very easy. Jump on the nearest Metrobüs and head towards Avcılar. Get off on the Küçükçekmece stop. From there, it’s a very short walk to the bridge.
