“Gardner/Imperial Guard”
Old name: Poleatikon
At first glance, Bostancı, on the Asian side of İstanbul between Caddebostan and Küçükyalı, does not look as if it has much to offer a visitor. However, this was once the outer boundary of Constantinople/İstanbul and amid some very unappealing urban development a bridge and an elaborate fountain still hint at a more glamorous past when the Byzantine emperors would be greeted here on their return from forays into Anatolia (there may even have been a palace here at one time). It was also here that travellers coming into town from Anatolia would have had to present their papers during Ottoman times.
Bostancı is also an increasingly important transport hub, with stations on the Marmaray and Metro, minbuses to Bağdat Caddesi and ferries to the Princes Islands.
Bostancıbaşı Köprüsü (Bridge)
To find Bostancı’s only real historic monument head straight up from the ferry terminal towards the busy main road that connects with Bağdat Caddesi. Here, in front of the Marmaray station, you will see a fine çeşme (fountain) with a trough for passing camels beside it. The derbent/karakol (guard-house/police station) that used to stand behind it and where travellers would present their mürur tezkeresi (a permit to travel) was demolished in the 1980s; the plane tree that used to shade them while they waited has been ruthlessly pollarded.
The çeşme (fountain) dates back to 1831-32 and right beside a Qibla stone marks the direction of Mecca for travellers praying at the open-air namazgah beside it. It is believed to have been moved several times before finally coming to rest here.
Across the road you will see a dried-up riverbed crossed by a triple-arched bridge that used to be called Cisr-i Derbend but is now the Bostancıbaşı Bridge over the Çamaşırcı Deresi (Launderers’ Stream). An older version of the bridge, probably dating back to the 16th century, was apparently destroyed by a storm in 1709; a new one was then commissioned by Halil Ağa, at the time the head of the bostancı guards. It would be wonderful if water could be returned to the channel. In the meantime the bridge leads across to a street lined with meyhanes.
The Ottoman traveller Evliya Celebi reported that Anatolian rebels who had risen up against he sultan in 1651 were brought here to be executed and then buried beside the bridge.
Eating
If you need to wait for a ferry there are a couple of inviting fish restaurants right by the shore and the ticket office.
Transport info
The nicest way to reach Bostançı is on a ferry from Kabataş, Kadıköy or Moda which will land you at the pretty little ferry terminal, dating back to 1913. In good weather the journey to or from Kabataş can feel quite like a mini cruise.
Since the ferries from the town centre are fairly infrequent you could also get here by Marmaray or on the M4 Metro line from Kadıköy. Minibuses also run up “Minibus Road” to Bostancı at the south-eastern end of Bağdat Caddesi.
Ferries also cross to the Princes Islands from Bostancı. These are far less used than the ferries from Kabataş and Kadıköy – most of the other passengers are likely to be islanders on their way to shop in Bostancı.
Nearby places
Caddebostan
