The Galatasaray Islet (Turkish: Galatasaray Adası) is a small island on the Bosphorus strait off Kuruçeşme neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey, owned by Galatasaray Sports Club.
Galatasaray Islet | |
|---|---|
Private | |
 Galatasaray Islet | |
  Galatasaray Islet Location of Galatasaray Islet in Turkey | |
| Coordinates: 41°03′35.06″N 29°2′22.48″E / 41.0597389°N 29.0395778°E | |
| Country |  Turkey |
| Province | Istanbul |
| Population | |
• Total | None |
| Time zone | UTC 3 (TRT) |
| Website | www.galatasaray.org |
Being situated just north of the Bosphorus Bridge, its only accessible to Galatasaray members and their guests.[1][2] Only 165 m (541 ft) from the European coast,[3] the islet is reachable by free ferry service.
From Autumn 2002 to July 2007 Galatasaray Islet has undergone massive construction works, resulting in its transformation[clarification needed] into the entertainment and recreation centre that is now serving the Galatasaray community and Istanbul.[4] That same year the constructions had been finished, on 4 October 2007, a fire broke out in a kitchen chimney and burnt down two restaurants and damaged four other premises on the islet.
History
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In 1872, Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz (reigned 1861–1876) granted the islet to the Ottoman-Armenian court architect Sarkis Balyan (1835–1899), who erected a three-story house on it as his own residence. In 1874, during one of his several visits to Istanbul, Russian-Armenian painter Ivan Aivazovsky stayed in the mansion of Sarkis on the islet, and made here a number of paintings commissioned by the sultan for the Dolmabahçe Palace.[3]
Called as the "Sarkis Bey Islet" during his lifetime, it was rented out by his legal heirs after the World War I to "Şirket-i Hayriye", the company operating passenger ferries in Istanbul, and was used for a long time as a coal depot.[3]
In 1957, Galatasaray S.K. purchased the islet and constructed premises and sports facilities on it.[3] The swimming pool on the islet served home to the water polo team from 1957 to 1968.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Galatasaray Adası". Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Galatasaray Adası, sezon açılışını yaptı". Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Galatasaray Adası, Unit Group tarafından yenilenecek" (in Turkish). Turizimde Bu Sabah. 26 September 2002. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
- ^ "Galatasaray Adası" (in Turkish). Galatasaray Sports Club. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
- ^ "Sutopu tarihçe" (in Turkish). Galatasaray Sports Club. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
External links
edit- Galatasaray S.K. official website (in Turkish and English)
- Galatasaray Islet on Wikimapia
