Şişli

Şişli (pronounced [ˈʃiʃli]) is one of 39 districts of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south. In 2009, Şişli had a population of 316,058.

History

Until the 1800s, Şişli was open countryside, used for hunting and agriculture and leisure. It was developed as a middle class residential district during the last years of the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Turkish Republic (the late 19th-early 20th centuries). French culture had a great influence in this period and the big avenues of Şişli had a European look; big stone buildings with high ceilings and art nouveau wrought-iron balconies, little elevators on wires in the middle of the stairway and so on. This trading middle-class was composed of Jews, Greeks and Armenians as well as Turks, many built homes in Şişli after a large fire in the district of Beyoğlu in 1870. Still today many families of Istanbul's local Armenian community live in the Kurtuluş neighbourhood of Şişli. The area was also popular with the Levantine trading families of this period who settled for trade or were contracted by the Ottoman Empire. Şişli attracted migrants from the former lands in Greece and the Balkans. In the late 19th century Şişli was one of the first areas supplied with tramlines, electricity and a gas supply. The orphanage of Darülaceze and the large Şişli Etfal Hospital were built here in this period, as well as the French schools of St. Michel and Notre Dame de Sion.

Şişli (disambiguation)

Şişli may refer to:

People with the surname