The Ortaköy Neighborhood
The first Jewish settlement was formed in Ortakoy after the Spanish Inquisition. During the Tulip period the Jewish population in Ortakoy was very low.
Ortakoy is the 3rd biggest Jewish neighborhood in Istanbul. Today, one of the most crowded district of Istanbul, Ortakoy was, for centuries the cradle of different cultures, civilization and religions.

The old name of the area was Arkheion. During Byzantine period, the area was called Domianu because of the monastery constructed here. The cape of Ortakoy, where the mosque is located today, was called Kleidon (the key of the Bosporus.) Later on, the area was called Ayios Phocas. Even the church barring the same name is from the 19th century, the Greek Orthodox lived in this area since the Byzantine period. The first village was built in this area by Cabica Larius. The first church named Ayios Phocas and gave its name to the area was constructed by Vacil from Macedonia.

Ortakoy has a hamam built by the great architect Sinan in the early 1570's. The hamam was built for Hüsrev Kethuda and is called the Kethuda hamam. The street façade of the hamam was hidden by a stucco house constructed against it.

Ortakoy today is very famous with bars, restaurants, European style cafes. During the weekends a flea market is formed in the streets of Ortakoy. Ortakoy is also the silent witness of the tolerance that the Ottomans had for different cultures and religions. In Ortakoy, in less than 50 square meters there are two synagogues, a church, and a mosque.

During the social division of the Bosporus, Ortakoy was reserved for the children of the Sultan, specially the daughters. During Abdülhamid 2nd period, the sons of the Sultan were living in the Feriye buildings. The crown prince Mehmed Resad was living in the Dolmabahçe palace, and the imprisoned Sultan Murad 5th was living in the Çiragan palace. The daughters were settled in the pavilions in Ortakoy after the mosque.

On the cape of Ortakoy, the Grand Mecidiye mosque, with its double minarets. The first mosque in this area was constructed in 1721 by Mahmud Aga, the son in law of the grand vizier of the period. It was constructed during the Tulip period. The mosque of Mahmud Aga was restored by Kethuda Mehmed Aga, therefore it was called Mehmed Aga mosque. Like all the buildings of the Tulip period, the Mehmed Aga mosque was destroyed during the janissary revolution. The Grand Mecidiye mosque was constructed in 1853 by the imperial architect Nikogos Balyan. It is called the Grand Mecidiye mosque because it is the second and biggest mosque constructed by the order of Sultan Abdülmecid. The mosque has been restored in 1862, 1866, 1909, and 1960. It has two sections. The Harim section is the worship area and the Hünkar section is the imperial area. The Harem section, composed of 12, 25 square meters square, is covered by a single dome. The Hünkar section has two floors. The first floor is the entrance hall. The second floor has two wings connected to each other by a terrace like small hall overlooking the entrance. Each wing has three rooms. The Sultan's entrance on the west wings shows that the Sultan Abdülmecid used to come to the mosque from the sea. The single dome of the mosque is supported on four sides by four columns buried into the walls. Some of the crayon works of the inner decoration were made by the Sultan Abdülmecid. The fountain of Nevsehirli Ibrahim Pasa, the grand vizier of the Tulip period, was constructed in 1723.

Ortakoy is the 3rd biggest Jewish neighborhood in Istanbul. Today, one of the most crowded district of Istanbul, Ortakoy was, for centuries the cradle of different cultures, civilization and religions. Located outside of the city walls, the area was not part of the main city during the Byzantine period. With the conquest of Istanbul, in the middle of the 15th century, the city started to expand outside the walls. Ortakoy and Besiktas, started to became important neighborhood with the amelioration of the public transportation. Again in the 19th century, the first housings in Maçka and Ortakoy were constructed. In Maçka, they were called Akaratler and in Ortakoy 18 Evler (Los Dizioço). Those housings were mostly occupied by the Jewish families.

The first Jewish settlement was formed in Ortakoy after the Spanish Inquisition. During the Tulip period the Jewish population in Ortakoy was very low. Because of natural disasters and fires, a considerable migration from other Jewish neighborhoods towards Ortakoy started in the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, there were two synagogues, a Jewish school, a cemetery and several social and cultural Jewish associations in Ortakoy. In 1936, there were 16 thousand people in Ortakoy, among them 700 Jewish families.

Today in Ortakoy, there are 1 synagogue, 3 cemeteries and 1 Jewish school. The buildings forming the highlights of the Istanbul's Jewry located in Ortakoy are:

The Jewish settlements in Ortakoy were divided into 3 congregations. Karakas, Tas mahalle and Dere. With the migrations of the Russian Jews in 1921, Ortakoy was the last area witnessing a Jewish migration.