PARKS AND RECREATION AREAS
Gulhane Park (Cankurtaran)
Gulhane Park was used as an armory and barracks during the Byzantine Period, and then in the following periods, numerous amusement events and shows such as wrestling and javelin were staged. Many obelisks were also erected at Gulhane Park to memorialize the events.
In the 1880s, Abdulhamid II permitted the construction of the Empire’s first large museum in this park.
Mayor Cemil Pasa completed the landscaping work when the Istanbul Archaeology Museum was completed, and the park was opened to the public in 1912. Gulhane Park, which is part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s “Sur-i Sultani” initiative, provides services to the as a “Has Bahce” (private garden of sultans). The Istanbul Islamic Sciences and Technology History Museum opened in the park’s “Has Ahirlari” (private sultan stables) structure in 2008.
Rone Park (Yesilkoy)
Yesilkoy’s previous name, Saint Stefano (Ayastefanos), was derived from a local named Monsieur Rone. His father was a Lebanese nobleman, while his mother was a local Greek woman. The graves of painters Pietro Bello and Count Amadeo Preziosi can be seen in the quarter.
Rone Park is located where the green land and the sea meet. The location provides a variety of activities for photographers, including a little zoo, children’s playgrounds, strolling trails, and natural scenery.
Garden of Medical Herbs (Zeytinburnu)
The Garden of Medical Herbs was established as part of an initiative led by Zeytinburnu Municipality and Merkez Efendi Medical Association to research and develop medical herbs, grow them organically, and share the results with the public.
When visiting the Garden of Medical Herbs, the most important guideline to remember is to avoid hurting the creatures. Serving as a volunteer gardener at the location allows you to spend time in nature. In addition to the plants, the garden is home to a variety of poultry species.
Yildiz Park (Besiktas )
The Yildiz Grove was the original name for Yildiz Park. Sultans used to come here to hunt and rest during the Ottoman period.
The park is a great place to go for a walk, ride a bike, or just sit and watch the squirrels in the trees and the gorgeous aquatic critters in the ponds. Yildiz Park is a beautiful backdrop for wedding photography as well as a great location for wildlife photographers. Here, you can take beautiful shots of the hanging wooden bridges, waterfalls, ponds, and environment.
The Malta and Cadir Houses are two other mansions in Yildiz Park. These, however, cannot be visited for the sake of sightseeing. Both are used as dining establishments.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy Recreation Area (Sariyer)
The region is named after poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy and is one of Belgrad Forest’s nine natural parks. During migration, Belgrad Forest is one of the busiest bird transit areas, with water, prey, and singing birds.
The Black Sea mole and a globally endangered turtle species are also available for viewing. Picnic spots, rest places, and cafés are also available at the location.
Mimar Sinan Forest (Eyup )
The reservoir is surrounded by a recreation area. Car parking facilities, picnic tables, outdoor tea cafés, an equestrian training facility, children’s playgrounds, and special parks, paintball, walking trails, and bicycle routes are all available in the municipal park.
The forest, which is located in Sultangazi, also has high and wooden watch towers where visitors can climb and get a bird’s eye view of Istanbul.
Bakirkoy Botanical Garden (Bakirkoy)
Bakirkoy Botanical Park first opened its doors to the public in 2013. With two 11,50m towers, the park has Turkey’s highest playgrounds.
Visitors are greeted by dinosaurs at the park’s entrance. Solar panels, which provide essential electric power, are another feature of the park. The park also has children’s playgrounds, statues, a natural pond, decorative ponds, resting spaces for migrating birds, picnic areas, and social amenities including a children’s playground, in addition to the botanical areas.
Everything in Bakirkoy Botanical Garden is likewise designed with the elderly and disabled in mind. For the elderly and crippled, the park administration provides a golf cart.
Imrahor Recreation Area (Arnavutkoy)
Imrahor Pond, which was created to conserve the forest and assess water supplies, is located near the same-named settlement area.
The region merges forest green and aqua blue together, resembling a natural park in terms of plant and animal types.
On weekends, schools, associations, companies, and especially families flock to the resting and walking areas near the pond.
Bayrampasa Adapark (Bayrampasa)
Bayrampasa Adapark, Turkey’s largest entertainment park, opened on July 30, 2003 on a 480,000-square-meter site.
The artificial pond, funfair, children’s playground, farm areas, and amphitheater all bring attention to the park. During the summer, the park frequently hosts events and concerts.
A little zoo, bazaar, walking routes, hobby gardens, exhibition space, and indoor and outdoor sports grounds are also available.
Belgrade Forest (Sarıyer)
The Belgrad Forest, which has a magnificent beauty, mostly filled with oak, beech and chestnut trees, covers an area of approximately 5440 hectares. Due to the region that receives heavy rain, it has had a location that provides water to the city throughout history. Weirs were built on the streams in the forest area and water was carried to the city through aqueducts.
It is known that the first aqueducts date back to the Roman period and water was carried from here to the famous Basilica Cistern in Sultanahmet during the Byzantine period.
The name of the Belgrad Forest is based on the process of bringing thousands of Serbian prisoners to Istanbul by Suleiman the Magnificent after the Siege of Belgrade in 1521 and placing them in the forest area near Ayvat Village in this region.
Emirgan Grove (Sariyer)
Feridun Garden was the previous name for Emirgan Grove. Feridun Bey, a marksman who died in 1583, is reported to have possessed a mansion here.
Pavilions and gardens built for Emirgun Han can also be found here.
Emirgan Grove is one of Istanbul’s most popular groves, situated on a slope and ridge in the northwest of the Emirgan area on the European side between Baltalimani and Istinye. Two connected ponds on the hilltop give off a lovely reflection as if they were mirrors.
A gushing waterfall is beyond the ponds, behind which you can access a cave through a narrow route, stairs, and bridges. Turkish Turing and Automobile Company rebuilt the Yellow Mansion in the grove in 1979, and it now functions as a café.
The Pink Mansion was rebuilt in 1982 and now houses a café on the ground story, as well as a museum and the Bogazici library on the upper floors. And then there’s the White Mansion… Turkish Turing and Automobile Company refurbished this home and turned it into a classical music complex.
Ataturk Arboretum (Sariyer)
Arboretums are places where trees and shrubs are cultivated and safeguarded. A tree park is another term for an arboretum. These botanical gardens are also significant because they conduct scientific studies.
With its evergreen flora and captivating natural setting, Ataturk Arboretum also houses Turkey’s first plant nursery, which was built in 1961. The arboretum resembles an open-air museum because it has many trees and unusual plant and animal species.
Maresal Fevzi Cakmak (Catalca)
Maresal Fevzi Cakmak Recreation Area is one of Catalca’s resorts and picnic spots, named after a famous figure in the Republic of Turkey’s history. Patches of pine trees lend even more richness to the colorful climate.
During the summer, the local pool is open. From the entrance’s height, you can see the vast Thracian regions as well as the Catalca Train Station.
Göktürk Pond ( Kemerburgaz)
Göktürk Pond Natural Park, in Eyup, Istanbul, was designated as a natural park in 2011. The name Göktürk Lake Natural Park comes from the Göktürk Pond, which is part of the park.
The tributaries of the Karanlik Dere Stream flow into the pond. Oak and hornbeam are the most common trees. Because of the surrounding Belgrad Forest, Göktürk Pond Natural Park boasts diverse flora and fauna.
With its everyday usage areas and suitability for nature hikes and cycling rides around the pond, the natural park is also a draw.
Hacet River Recreation Area (Tuzla)
Hacet River Natural Park, which spans 16 hectares and is named after the stream that runs through it, was designated as a natural park in 2012.
The Hacet Spring is said to be sacred, hence the natural park holds a special place in the hearts of the locals. The area is dominated by Turkish pine, common oak, blackberry, and buddleja davidii.
Mihrabad Recreation Area (Kanlica)
Rukiye Hanim, the daughter of Misirli Abbas Halim Pasa, was given Mihrabad Recreation Area as a reward for seeing the bride’s face during the Ottoman Empire’s closing years.
The area has inspired many artists with its magnificent landscape, which has hosted many melodic nights in the moonlight for centuries and served as a home to sultans.
A restaurant, café, special party and organization facilities, social and cultural activity areas, walking pathways, and an amphitheater are all available at the recreation area.
Saklı Göl Lake (Sile)
The Sakli Gol Lake is a reservoir in the Sile village of Kamandere. This picturesque region, which is popular among Istanbul residents as a weekend retreat, provides nature enthusiasts excellent walking trails and delectable breakfast.
On the approach to the reservoir, visitors can go shopping in the tiny bazaar where locals sell natural products.
Aydos Forest (Kartal)
Aydos Forest is a one-of-a-kind oxygen-rich recreation area that works in perfect tandem with Aydos Pond.
In this wonderful ambiance, you can sip tea and picnic around the pond, or admire the 537m high Aydos Hill, Istanbul’s highest point.
The fact that the forest was used as a hunting ground throughout the Ottoman period indicates that the woodland was densely forested.
Nezahat Gökyigit Garden (Ataşehir)
Ali Nihat Gökyigit founded the Nezahat Gökyigit Botanical Garden in 1995 as a memorial park in honor of his wife, Nezahat Gökyigit.
As a result, the planting and afforestation activities were initially used to create a “memory park.” A total of 50,000 trees and plants were planted across the park’s 46 hectares. The park was later reclassified as a botanical garden as a result of activities. The park first opened to the public in 2002, and in 2003, it was renamed Nezahat Gökyigit Botanical Garden.
Göztepe Recreation Area (Beykoz)
Göztepe Natural Park and Recreation Area is a natural park in Beykoz that was established in 2013.
The natural park, which is primarily utilized for picnics, is also ideal for birdwatching and for nature hikes. During different times of the year, the area hosts spring festivals.
Elmas Burnu Recreation Area (Riva)
The natural park’s Elmas Burnu Beach is one of Riva’s three beaches.
The beach provides showers and change rooms. Water sports are also permitted in the area. Picnic spots and tent camping areas are available in the natural park.
Visitors can satisfy their requirements at the park’s rustic restaurant and stall.
Avcıkoru Natural Park (Şile)
A rural restaurant, a stall, and a children’s playground are all located in the Natural Park’s daily use area. Visitors can also use this location as a picnic spot.
The walkways provide opportunities for guests to take a nature walk. In addition, the park features survival tracks and children’s inflatable playgrounds.
Polonezköy Natural Park (Polonezköy)
Polonezkoy Natural Park, which opened in 1994 in Beykoz, Istanbul, is Turkey’s first and largest natural park.
The Ottomans called this Polish village Adamkoy, but it was afterwards renamed “Polonez Karyesi” (Polonaise Village). The government awarded citizenship to the refugees who had settled here in 1894. The village’s name was changed to Polonezkoy in 1923. (another form of Polonaise Village).
The natural park, which covers around 3,000 hectares, is home to a diverse range of vegetation and fauna.
Tasdelen Recreation Area (Çekmeköy)
The Tasdelen Recreation Area takes its name from the Tasdelen spring, which is nestled among the oak, pine, and hornbeam trees.
Hafsa Hatun, Suleiman I’s mother, renamed the location Tasdelen Natural Spring Water. The water is thought to alleviate a variety of ailments, including kidney stones.
During Ataturk’s illness, Tasdelen spring water was also utilized. Concerts, picnics, festivals, and wedding organizations are all held at Tasdelen Recreation Area.
Fatih Grove – Otagtepe Park (Kavacık )
The former Otagtepe Park is now Fatih Grove. The park fascinates with its distinctive seascape, which includes a bird’s-eye view of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Bogazici bridges.
There are various sites in this park that give blended breakfast at cheap prices on weekends, where you can snap wonderful Istanbul images by outlining both the Rumeli Fortress and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.
Fatih Grove TEMA Vehbi Koç Natural Culture Center is the official name of Otatepe Park, which is located on the outskirts of Beykoz. Weddings and other special events are also held in the offices in Otatepe Park.
Çamlıca Hill (Uskudar )
The hill of Camlica dominates Istanbul. Marmara, Adalar, Halic, and Beyoglu are just a few of the names that come to mind.
When the weather is clear, all of this may be seen from the hill, including the Black Sea panorama.
With a simit (Turkish bagel) and a glass of tea, you can easily immerse yourself in pleasant stillness.
Kemerburgaz City Forest (Eypsultan)
Kemerburgaz City Forest, Turkey’s largest city forest, opened to visitors on October 26, 2019, in Gokturk Pirincci Village in Eyupsultan.
One of the most important projects in Istanbul’s regreening in the forest, which includes a variety of amenities such as picnic spots, restaurants, and cafés. The city forest, properly known as the Kemerburgaz International City Forest, covers 5,526,000 square meters.
However, only 1,500,000 square meters are exposed to the public.
With a watchtower, children’s playgrounds, a football pitch, tent and camping spaces, country restaurants, country cafés, bicycle rentals, souvenir stores, a volleyball court, cow barns, pony barns, and an organic products bazaar. Kemerburgaz City Forest offers a variety of activities. Apart from these, the forest offers ATV rentals, an ice rink (open exclusively during the winter months), prayer sites, administrative and staff facilities, 357-square-meter grass, over 8,000 trees, 420 thousand bushes, and 120 pergolas.
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