Rumelifeneri, Istanbul


Rumelifeneri is a village in İstanbul Province, Turkey.

Geography

Rumelifeneri is in Sarıyer intracity district of Istanbul Province. At it is a coastal village located at the extreme northwest of the Bosphorous Strait. It is a suburb of Istanbul. The distance to Sarıyer is and to the center of Greater Istanbul is about. The population of Rumelifeneri is 2,337 as of 2010.

History

Archaeological evidence in the area of the village dates back to the late Byzantine era, although a now lost Greek inscription dating to the 3rd century CE was formerly on display at the Greek cemetery of the village.
The village is named after a local lighthouse, which is attested in portolans and literary sources since at least the 15th century. Petrus Gyllius, who visited it in the mid-16th century, described it as octagonal, and ascribed to it a Byzantine origin. Its Greek inhabitants named it Phanarion, often in the diminutive Phanarakion. In 1768, a fortress was built by a Greek engineer for the Ottoman Empire, possibly on older foundations. It is now in ruins. Rumelifeneri was involved was the rebellion of Kabakçı Mustafa.
Before World War I, the village was inhabited by Greeks—some 900 inhabitants in the late 19th century—and had a church dedicated to St. George, and the hagiasma known as tis Tsirpinas.

Economy

Rumelifeneri is a fishermen's village. But it is very close to Istanbul, which makes the village a place of seafood restaurants specialized for daily excursion of Istanbul citizens.