Neighbourhoods of Istanbul

Neighbourhoods Of Istanbul

This is a list of neighbourhoods (Turkish: mahalle) of Istanbul, Turkey, classified by the districts of Istanbul. Neighbourhoods are not considered an administrative division of the districts, but they have legally established borders and a "head man" (called muhtar in Turkish) who are elected by universal suffrage and have minor duties like certifying copies of certain documents, especially one related to the "official residence" of the people living in the neighbourhood. (Turkish legislation requires presenting an official "certificate of residence" for several needs of the citizens and resident foreigners alike; such as enrolling in electoral registers or for applying to a job that requires being a resident of the concerned district or province, or for requesting certain public or municipal services.)

Other than these traditional and officially recognised mahalles or neighbourhoods, there are also quarters (in Turkish: semt) which do not have officially determined borders and the word is used in a more casual way; in most cases referring to more than one mahalle or in others only one, which may have an official name and a traditional one.