Photo: Carlos Delgado (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source 11 places to visit in the Fatih district of Istanbul: Topkapı Palace, Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) and Süleymaniye Complex. Plan your trip to Fatih with local food, practical tips and transport information.
Fatih, or the Historic Peninsula, covers the whole area where the city of Istanbul was founded and developed, and is today the central district of Istanbul province. After Eminönü district was abolished and merged into Fatih in 2009, it became the only district on the entire Historic Peninsula.
Historical Significance
The history of the area goes back to the 7th century BC, when Byzantion was founded by colonists from Megara.
Ancient and Byzantine Periods
When the Roman Empire was made capital by Constantine in 330, the peninsula became the centre of imperial administration. Structures such as the Forum of Constantine, the Great Palace, the Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia defined the character of this period. During the Byzantine era, Fatih developed as a centre where religious and administrative institutions were concentrated. In the 5th century, with the completion of the Theodosian Walls, the peninsula became one of the most powerful defence systems in the world.
Ottoman Period
With the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul by the Turks in 1453, Fatih was reshaped as the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The area became the political, religious and cultural centre of the empire, and this transformation centred on the Fatih Complex built by Mehmed II and on Topkapı Palace. In the 16th century, the Süleymaniye Complex designed by Mimar Sinan became the most distinctive element of Istanbul’s skyline.
Multicultural Character
During the Ottoman period, Fatih was a multicultural area where not only Muslim neighbourhoods but also Greek, Armenian and Jewish communities lived. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and old Byzantine churches in Fener and Balat, Armenian neighbourhoods in Samatya, and synagogues around Hasköy and Balat preserve traces of this ethnic fabric to the present day.
Republican Period
In 1985 the Historic Peninsula was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Today Fatih remains an area that contains Hagia Sophia, Süleymaniye, the Grand Bazaar, Sultanahmet Square, the shores of the Golden Horn, the city walls and Fener-Balat, and it houses a large part of Istanbul’s tourist, cultural and religious centres.
History and Culture
Fatih became the only district on the Historic Peninsula in 2009, when Eminönü was merged into it. The Historic Peninsula was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. The history of the area goes back to the 7th century BC, when Byzantion was founded. After the conquest of 1453, Fatih was reshaped as the capital of the Ottomans. During the Ottoman period, Fatih was a multicultural area.
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