Kazlıçeşme (Tarihi Kazlı Çeşme ve Kazlıçeşme Meydanı)

Kazlıçeşme is the largest neighbourhood of Zeytinburnu by area and is counted among the oldest settlements outside Istanbul's walls. It begins at the land walls and Yedikule in the east and stretches west as far as Zeytinburnu railway station. The commuter railway runs along its north side, while the coastal road and the Sea of Marmara lie to the south. The neighbourhood takes its name from the historic marble fountain carved with the figure of a goose. The district of Zeytinburnu in turn takes its name from the cape in this neighbourhood, once covered with olive groves. In Roman times the area lay on the route of the Via Egnatia, which linked the Adriatic coast with Istanbul. According to the Kültür Envanteri record, the Kazlı Fountain was built in 1546, the Hijri year 953, according to its construction inscription. The inscription is written in thuluth script in five cartouches, and the verse is thought to be by Aşık Pir Mehmet Çelebi, a teacher and judge who died in Skopje in 1571. Some sources date the fountain to 1537, but the Hijri year 953 corresponds to 1546-1547 in the common calendar. Janissary marks have also been documented among the stones of the fountain. The goose relief that gave the fountain its name was stolen in 2002; in 2010 Zeytinburnu Municipality had a copy of the figure made and restored the fountain. Today the goose can be seen in the pointed arched niche, just below the inscription panel. The story of Kazlıçeşme begins with leather. After the conquest of Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed II assigned this area outside the walls to butchers and to tanners, the craftsmen who processed hides. The Zeytinburnu District Governorate relates that Mehmed II settled leather workers brought from Edirne and Anatolia here, and that the area gradually became the centre of the leather trade. The foul smell of the tanneries was the main reason this work was done outside the walls. Slaughterhouses and as many as 360 tanneries were set up in the area. Candle workshops making candles from the fat of slaughtered animals stood alongside this production. In the 17th century Evliya Çelebi wrote that this was a prosperous quarter, full of a mosque, small mosques, an inn, a bathhouse, public fountains and rooms where the unmarried men who worked in the tanneries lodged. In the 19th century factories using new technology were added alongside the traditional tanneries. The works founded in 1843 and known as the Fabrika-i Hümayun produced many goods, from iron pipes to cloth. In the Republican period cement and textile factories opened, and with the 1947 regulation on industrial zones the area became an industrial district. The neighbourhood was attached to the Fatih district in 1953 and joined the newly created Zeytinburnu district in 1957. The leather industry moved in the 1990s to a new industrial zone set up in Tuzla. Funda Budak's article in the Marmara University Journal of Political Science examines the transformation Kazlıçeşme has undergone since the conquest through this process of industrialisation and deindustrialisation. Once the old factory buildings were demolished, the waterfront area became a wide open space. This flat ground is known today as Kazlıçeşme Square and hosts events where large crowds gather. The easiest way to begin a visit to Kazlıçeşme is by Marmaray. Kazlıçeşme station lies on the Marmaray line and is also a stop on the commuter line that runs to Sirkeci. Many İETT bus routes also stop in the neighbourhood; check current routes with İETT. When you leave the station, find the fountain first and look closely at the inscription and the goose relief. Then walk along Demirhane Avenue towards the walls to get a sense of the boundaries of the old tannery district. The land walls and Yedikule Fortress begin at the eastern edge of the neighbourhood, so you can end the walk looking at the walls. The seaside parks across the coastal road are good places to rest with a view of the sea. The stones in front of the fountain can be slippery in the rain, so take care while taking photographs.