Başakşehir


Başakşehir is one of the 39 second-level districts in Greater Istanbul, Turkey. The population of Başakşehir is 311,095 as of 2012. It is in the European part of Istanbul.

Geography

Başakşehir is situated in the European portion of İstanbul at. Sazlıdere Dam reservoir is to the northwest and Sea of Marmara is to the south. It is surrounded by other second-level districts of Istanbul, such as Eyüp, Sultangazi, Esenler, Bağcılar, Küçükçekmece, Avcılar, Esenyurt and Arnavutköy.
The Europe Motorway starts at Mahmutbey in Başakşehir, and runs through the district in west direction to Edirne.

History

Former name of the area was Azatlık. The area specialized in providing gunpowder to the Ottoman army. Later a farm was established in place of Azatlık; the farm was known as Resneli farm referring to Resneli Niyazi, a military officer from Resen, North Macedonia, who was a hero of Young Turk Revolution in 1908. Up to 2009 most of Başakşehir was a quarter in Küçükçekmece district. Then it was declared a district seat.

Notable buildings