Phoenicians Founded Blog's Hometown

kadıköy (links to original article)

(Kadıköy Newspaper, 11-17 March 2011)

//ed. note: another of our blog's historical excursions. This time about
the blog's hometown - Kadıköy, Istanbul//

In 825 BC the Phoenicians (Tyriens) came here from the city of Sur
in what is today Tunus and established a city. This settlement center
took the name of Kartaca, which later changed to 'Karchedon'. When
the Phoenicians began to settle Kadıköy they called it Chalkedon,
which means 'New City'.  Both the words Karchedon and Chalkedon
are the Phoenician names. It's clear that both are similar to each other
and so the belief that Kalkedon was a Phoenician city has been estab-
lished.

But although it was the Phoenicians who gave the name Kalkedon to
Kadıköy, whether it was the Phoenicians or the Megaras who were
the first settlers remains an open question. In 1350 AD when Kadıköy
was invaded by the Ottomans its name became 'Kalıcı Dünya' (Perma-
nent World) but this name wasn't used much. In later years it was
seized by the Istanbul Turks and Kadıköy was given to Fatih Mehmet
Sultan's first 'kadı' (judge) Hıdır Bey as payment for his services, in
the form of lands. That is how the name Kadıköy took and remains
with us to this day.

According to the research of Mr. Mithat Sertoğlu, Fatih's famous
judge, Celalzade Hıdır Bey, was the grandchild of the legendary
Nasrettin Hoca's daughter. After 1453 a retrenchment began in Kadıköy
in all regards. French traveller Pierre Gylies said in 1540 when he visited
Istanbul that 'Kadıköy is just a village anymore.' But with the coming of
the Christians to Kadıköy in the 19th century the city gained new life.

The first settlement place in Kadıköy after the conquest was the area
where Osmanağa Mosque is now situated. Greek and Turkish neighbor-
hoods continued with their relations and by the end of the 18th century
Kadıköy was known as a vacation spot where rich Greeks settled.
Subsequently, Levantines began to live in Altıyol, Bahariye, Moda and
Yoğurtçu.