“Axe Harbour”
The Bosphorus suburb of Baltalimanı between Rumeli Hisarı and Boyacıköy is one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it places where you’re unlikely to get off the bus but where you might perhaps want to glance quickly out of the window at the Metin Sabancı Kemik Hastanesi (Osteopathy Hospital) housed in the Palace of Mediha Sultan (and Damad Ferit Paşa), a now blush-pink building originally designed in 1840 for the grand vizier Mustafa Reşid Paşa by Sarkis Balyan but later occupied by minor members of the imperial family.
The palace has one main claim to fame which is that in 1838 the Baltalımanı Agreement signed in it liberalised trading conditions for foreigners, leading to a short-lived economic boom.
The suburb is named after one of Sultan Mehmed II’s admirals, Süleyman Bey, nicknamed “Baltaoğlu” because of the number of trees he had chopped down (“balta” is Turkish for “axe”) to build the ships used for the successful assault on Constantinople in 1453.
Also here is a small Japanese peace park at its most beautiful in cherry-blossom season.
Transport info
Most buses heading up the Bosphorus pass through Baltalimanı on their way to Emirgan.
Nearby areas
