Arnavutköy

Not to mix it; there are two regions named as Arnavutköy in Istanbul city. One of them is a neighbourhood of Beşiktaş; a peaceful district by the Bosporus, the other one is also in European side but a newly established one. This text is about Arnavutköy district which is located at the northern part of Istanbul.

Arnavutköy is almost 35 km away from Mecidiyeköy and 30 km away from Eminönü districts. Surrounded by Eyüp, Esenyurt, Büyükçekmece and Çatalca districts, Arnavutköy has one of the longest coastline of 22km with Black Sea. Reading that one may imagine nice long beaches but sorry, there is definitely none.

The sand quarries along the seaside has affected negatively, ruining the natural beauty of the coastline. Only around Karaburun, there is a beach along the Black Sea but swimming requires a little bit professionalism due to wild waves. Although you are not professional in swimming, you may still enjoy Karaburun as it has couple of special dishes like Kuyu’da Kalkan (Turbot Tandouri) and mezes to offer attracting foodies.

Arnavutköy is rich in terms of water sources as there are many streams passing by this district. Terkos Lake and Sazlıdere Dam are two of them which act as the main water resource of Istanbul.

Residents, majority migrating from Anatolia, are very conservative. There’re numerous mosques in the district and although it’s a big village, Arnavutköy has Taşoluk Yeşil Mosque, one of the four in Turkey which has 6 minaret.

Residents work in small and big factories which are located in the district. Textile factories take the lead of economy. Future of district may be different as there are some important projects, planned by government, to change the state of district. Third bridge project and connected roads, third airport and North Marmara highway projects are couple of them which if happens, be it positive or negative, will definitely cause a change in district. Consequently, although projects haven’t started yet, district already became an attractive location for investors and property prices already arisen.

Transportation is an issue if you decide to live in that region. Obviously this part of the city is not connected with the centre in a proper way yet. Only mean of moving around is buses and dolmush (dolmuş) buses which may not be suitable to your schedule. If you plan to hit the roads without a car, make sure about the timings of buses and dolmushes.