Kazlıçeşme, Zeytinburnu

Hikayemiz

Kazlıçeşme is one of the seven neighborhoods of Zeytinburnu district in Istanbul, Turkey. Chartered in 1957, it is the largest neighborhood of Zeytinburnu. The locality took its name from the historic fountain (çeşme) with a relief goose (kaz) figure below the fountain's inscription, which dates it back to Hijri year AH 953 (AD 1537).Stretching between Bakırköy district in the southwest and Fatih district in the northeast, where it borders to the historic Walls of Constantinople, the area covers the entire coast line of Zeytinburnu at the Sea of Marmara. The 13km long shorline road Kennedy Avenue connecting Sirkeci with Bakırköy runs through Kazlıçeşme.HistoryKazlıçeşme was assigned for slaughterhouse, tannery and chandlery by a decret of Ottoman sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (reigned 1444–46 and 1451–81) soon after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Kazlıçeşme was chosen as a place outside the city walls due to the very bad smell produced by ancient tanneries. There were 360 tanneries and 33 butcheries in Kazlıçeşme at a time. The tanneries and the factories of leatherware industry in the area moved in 1993 to a modern industrial zone in Tuzla district on the Asian of Istanbul established for that special purpose. After all the leather industry left Kazlıçeşme, the old factory buildings were demolished, and the area became a big public space, which is used today for political and social activity rallies.