Eyüp

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Eyüp, Istanbul

Information
Province	Istanbul
Area	242 km²
Population (2000)	255,921
Coordinates	41°03'18" N 28°50'54" E
Mayor	Ahmet Genç
website	Eyup Municipality
website	Eyup

Eyup is a district of the city of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the confluence of the Kağıthane and Alibey streams at the head of the Golden Horn. Eyüp is a historically important area, especially for Turkey's Muslims.

[edit] History

Although this area lies outside the city walls, the village pre-dated the larger Istanbul as two area streams provided plenty of fresh water. In the Byzantine period there was a church in the village and later a monastery (which was built on the steep hill behind today's Eyüp Mosque).

The area has long been used as a place of burial, largely due to its position outside the city of Istanbul. There are both Christian churches and cemeteries as well as a large Muslim cemetery. The major Muslim shrine gives the area its current name and fame.

[edit] The Mosque and türbe (funerary mausoleum) of Ayyub al-Ansari

Main entrance to the sanctuary containing the türbe (funerary mausoleum) and the mosque in Eyüp

Inside view of the sanctuary containing the türbe (funerary mausoleum) and the mosque in Eyüp

The name Eyüp comes from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the companion and standard bearer of the Prophet Muhammad. He came to Constantinople with the Arab army during the first attempted Muslim conquest of the city, died and as his last request was buried there. Seven centuries later, during the conquest of Constantinople, the tomb was said to have been re-discovered by Ak Şemsettin the Sheikh of Mehmed II.

After the city was taken Sultan Mehmet ordered a tomb, or "Türbe", be constructed over Abu Ayyub's resting place and a Mosque constructed in his honor. The first major mosque to be built in Istanbul, it was surrounded by the traditional bath, school room and canteen complex, the first to be built in Istanbul.

From that point on Eyüp became something of a 'sacred place', the mosque containing a stone said to bear the footprint of the Prophet Mohammed. More mosques, prayer schools, and fountains were built, and as many Ottoman officials wished to be buried at or near the site of Abu Ayyub's resting place, the cemetery became one of Istanbul's most desirable final resting places.

The area grew and acquired a great deal of valuable sacred architecture, becoming a place where Dervish Tekkes could be found alongside visitors both Turkish and foreign.

At the height of the Ottoman Empire, Eyüp was one of the most recognized urban areas outside the city walls.

[edit] Eyüp during the industrial revolution

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Istanbul grew as the fringes of the Ottoman Empire became unsettled and Turkish communities from the Balkans and the Caucasus came to the city. During this period the Eyüp area became incorporated into the city, losing some of its spiritual air as factories were built along the Golden Horn. The first of these was the Feshane, the factory beside the Golden Horn, where fezzes were manufactured for the Ottoman armies. The Feshane is today an exhibition center, owned by the Istanbul municipality.

Simultaneously, the industry and the growing population, as well as the continuing numbers of visitors to the holy places, encouraged the growth of the shopping district around and behind the mosque; the streets behind had fish and dairy markets, shops, cafes and bars for the residents of the area, while the courtyard of the mosque itself held people selling scriptures and prayer beads for the visitors and pilgrims.

From the mid-20th century onwards, the area took on a more 'working class' feel as wealthier residents of Istanbul preferred to buy housing on the Asian side of the city or further along the Bosphorus, since the Golden Horn was becoming increasingly polluted and unpleasant due to the industrial development. The industrial zone expanded as major roads were put through the Eyüp area and the market gardens and flower fields of Alibeyköy disappeared.

[edit] Eyüp today

View of Golden Horn from the Pierre Loti Cafe

In recent years many of the factories have been closed or cleaned up, the Golden Horn no longer smells and it is possible to sit by the waterside. The area has also become increasingly occupied by conservative Muslim families.

The Eyüp Sultan Mosque continues to draw tourists visiting İstanbul, as well as rather larger numbers of Turkish religious pilgrims. At Friday prayer and throughout Ramadan the area is full of visitors from all over the city. Pilgrims to the mosque include a wide range of Muslims, often before a wedding or circumcision.

In recent years a thriving market has grown around the mosque of bearded gentlemen selling prayer mats, beads, dates from Saudi Arabia, scented oils, and indeed all kinds of Islamic books, recordings of the Koran being recited and other artifacts. On Fridays, a marching band plays Ottoman military music, mehter, giving the area around the mosque something of a carnival atmosphere with an Islamic twist. In Ramadan the area in front of the mosque is taken over by large tents where food is served to the poor at the evening breaking of the fast.

[edit] Eyüp Cemetery


	Inside view,with sight of mihrab and minbar,of the mosque in Eyüp	The dome in mosque in Eyüp	Sultans protocol road,for putting-on sword ceremony at the first day of Sultanate