BETWEEN SEA AND FOREST KANLICA
Kanlica, a village on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus,
is famous for its yogurt and in the past was also known for its
Mecca style coffee served in large cups without handles. Its graceful
waterfront houses encircle Kanlica Bay, and on the heights behind
is an old wooded park. In Ottoman times a popular pastime on moonlit
summer nights was to go out on the Bosphorus in boats, accompanied
by musicians. Kanlica Bay, with its bowl-like hillside behind, formed
a natural concert hall perfect for such musical excursions. Facing
the sea to the west and wooded slopes behind, Kanlica is the shy
young girl of the Bosphorus, reserved in the company of strangers
but lively with her familiars.
There are several rival explanations for the origin of the name
Kanlica. One claims that Turks from Anatolia arrived here before
the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 in carts known as kagni and having
settled made a living making the same type of carts. The village
became known as Kangli after them, later corrupted to Kanlica.
According to another theory the name derives from
the word ‘kan’ meaning blood, on account of the red
ochre paint used for the houses here, and yet another claims that
a plant on which local livestock grazed lent a pale red hue to the
local milk and yogurt, hence the name Kanlica.
In the tiny square in Kanlica there are vendors
of kokoreç (spicy grilled intestine) and fried mussels on
one side, and next to them Iskender Pasa Mosque, a tiny gem of a
mosque built by the great 16th century Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan
in 1559-60. Opposite the mosque is the jetty and fisherm’ses
hut. Right in the centre of the square is a fountain built by Haci
Veysi Bey, whose yali (waterfront house) is nearby. Other yalis
here are Haci Ahmet Bey Yali, Rasim Pasa Yali, Kadri Pasa Yali,
Sefik Bey Yali and Edhem Pertev Yali. Heading away from the sea
now through the back streets, I passed fountains on almost every
street corner. Five of them are fed by spring water from the hills
behind, ice cold and refreshing.
The architecture of the houses is mixed. Some are
unrestored traditional houses, picturesque with geraniums on the
window sills. Some are modern villas with swimming pools in the
garden and cars at the front door. The hedges at the side of the
road were thick with huge juicy blackberries. Further up the hill
I came to Mihrâbâd Park where local people come to picnic;
nothing special in itself but the view is spectacular, looking over
the Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Kanlica Bay.
Everyone who lives in Istanbul knows of Kanlica yogurt, and people
from far and wide come to try it. The café of Ismailaga which
serves this yogurt is always crowded, and has been the best place
to get it since the café was founded by Ismail Aga in 1871.
The café, which is run today by his descendants Gür
and Gürbüz Sipahioglu, was originally still more famous
for its Turkish coffee. In the time of Ismail Aga and his son Sevket
Sipahioglu people including prime ministers and famous writers came
to Kanlica just to drink the excellent coffee.
But today the yogurt rather than the coffee is the
main attraction. Kanlica yogurt is served with powder sugar, honey,
fruit conserves and icecream, as well as plain. Many foreigners
find their way here as well as locals, and the Sipahioglu brothers
say that Germans prefer it with honey and the Spanish with fruit
conserves. Turks, however, like their yogurt either plain or with
powder sugar. On a hilltop just outside Kanlica is Hidiv Kasir,
an elegant mansion in art nouveau style built by the last Ottoman
governor of Egypt, Abbas Hilmi Pasa in 1904. Today the mansion is
a café and restaurant set in extensive gardens and woods
covering over sixty acres. An oldfashioned lift leads up to the
tower. The lift operator assured me that it was perfectly safe and
had been working like clockwork for years. At the top I stepped
out where the top of the tower touched the sky and was astounded
by the view. Although the tower is not of a particularly great height,
I found myself looking far into the distance. The Marmara Sea appeared
like a small lake, and the Bosphorus bridges like miniature models
of the real thing.
My last stop in Kanlica was the Kanlica Charitable
Society founded in 1964 by journalist Erol Simavi and a group of
friends to help the poor. The society, which gives priority to helping
local people, has around two hundred members. Since they are mainly
of middle age and over, when they get together talk tends to centre
around the ‘good old days’. They all share a love of
Kanlica. One of them told me, ‘I was born and bred in Kanlica.
I went to school here. I am a retired bank manager, and there is
nowhere in the country I have not seen. But I never found anywhere
like Kanlica. Why? This is the most beautiful place in the world.
A few steps takes you down to the sea. You turn around and there
are woods. What more could anyone want?’
* Ali Ethem Keskin is an underwater photographer
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