Maltepe (District)

Maltepe is a district located on the coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the south-western part of the Kocaeli Peninsula in Istanbul. It covers an area of 50 square kilometres and borders the districts of Kadıköy, Kartal, Sancaktepe and Adalar. Its historical roots extend back to the early 6th century, and the settlement was originally known as Bryas or Urias in Latin. Historically, the district emerged as a coastal village named Obnias at the foot of Dragos Hill.^【1】

^{Maltepe (}Maltepe Municipality⁾

The history of Maltepe, as confirmed by archaeological findings, dates from the 4th to the 13th centuries, demonstrating that the district has been continuously inhabited for centuries. During the Byzantine period, the coastal village of Obnias, established at the foot of Dragos Hill, served as a religious and spiritual centre with the Bryas Palace. Emperor Theophilos built a palace in 816 AD, modelled after the Abbasid Caliphs’ palace in Baghdad.^【2】

The district was conquered by Sultan Süleyman Shah of the Seljuks in 1080, and in 1084, through an agreement with the Byzantine Emperor, the Dragos River was designated as the first boundary between the Anatolian Turks and the Byzantines. After Süleyman Shah’s death in 1086, the agreement was broken, and during the Crusaders’ siege of İzmit in 1097, Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos established his headquarters at what is now known as Maltepe Castle, then called Pelekanon.^【3】 During the Crusades, Maltepe functioned as a transit zone between East and West.

^{Maltepe District in History (}Maltepe Municipality⁾

During the Ottoman period, Maltepe, along with the Kocaeli Peninsula, came under Ottoman administration following the Battle of Pelekanon in 1329. However, during the Ottoman Interregnum, the settlement reverted to Byzantine control in 1402. Subsequently, Mehmed I reconquered Maltepe in 1413, and it became the second military camp and headquarters along the Baghdad Road after Üsküdar. After the capture of Aydos Castle, Maltepe remained within Ottoman territory alongside Kartal by 1400.^【4】

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Maltepe was a Greek village subordinate to Üsküdar, and urban development projects were carried out in the region by Kazasker Feyzullah Efendi.

From the second half of the 19th century, economic, social and administrative activity in the district intensified. A significant migration occurred from the Kemah region of Erzincan to Maltepe Centre due to the Ottoman-Russian War of 1893.^【5】 In 1899, Maltepe was officially designated as a coastal village under the Adalar subdistrict, and its petition for municipal status was submitted the same year; records from 1901 confirm the establishment of a municipal administration. The Maltepe Railway Station opened in 1910, but the district fell under occupation in 1918 following the occupation of Istanbul.

^{Maltepe – Istanbul (}Maltepe Municipality⁾

Following the proclamation of the Republic, Turks from Drama were resettled in Maltepe through the population exchange in 1922, and the Maltepe Municipality was established in 1928, becoming one of Istanbul’s oldest municipalities.^【6】 Süreyyapaşa Beach and the railway station were reopened in 1946. The Virgin Monument, originally constructed in 1953 as a trampoline for Süreyya Beach, Istanbul’s largest beach in the 1940s, became a centre where women wishing to marry made wishes.^【7】

Maltepe is built on an area of 5,412 hectares, including reclaimed coastal land, and is situated on the south-western edge of the Kocaeli Peninsula along the coast of the Sea of Marmara. The district’s topography rises from sea level to 480 metres towards the north, with Kayışdağı being its highest point.^【8】 While the coastal areas are flat, hills extend northward, with broad plains located between and behind them. The coastline consists of sand and clay, while the northern areas are covered with siliceous deposits.^【9】 This siliceous mass is covered by red and brown soils, up to one metre thick, which are highly fertile.

The settlement pattern of the district is divided into two main zones by the E-5 (D100) highway, which cuts through the city: the area above the highway and the area below it. The southern portion of the E-5 highway, encompassing specific parcels, has been designated as an industrial zone.

There are no major rivers or permanent streams in the district. However, the Çamaşırcı Creek, originating from Fındıklı, flows into the sea at Altıntepe and forms the boundary between Kadıköy and Maltepe. Additionally, the Çobanlar Creek, descending from the Başıbüyük ridge, and another stream running alongside the Süreyyapaşa water reservoirs are present. The historical Dragos River, today a small stream, flows from the western part of Maltepe into the sea.^【10】 Maltepe supplies a significant portion of Istanbul’s drinking water through springs emerging in the Başıbüyük and Büyükbakkal neighbourhoods.

Maltepe has been a settlement marked by increasing economic, social and administrative dynamism since the second half of the 19th century during the Ottoman Empire. During this period, Maltepe exhibited a cosmopolitan character with coexistence of Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Historically a summer retreat favoured by the elite, the district has undergone significant demographic changes in the modern era. Beginning in the 1960s, the establishment of workshops, factories and the construction of Süreyyapaşa Hospital triggered a new wave of labour migration. Between 1950 and 1980, industrialisation and major infrastructure projects triggered an apartment-building trend that attracted the middle class, who could not afford housing in central Istanbul.

^{Süreyyapaşa Hospital (}Maltepe Municipality⁾

Today, Maltepe Municipality’s future-oriented plans prioritise the concept of “urban rights” and aim to revitalise a culture of solidarity within the district.^【11】 Additionally, eliminating barriers to gender equality, supporting disadvantaged social groups, promoting culture and art through an equitable framework, expanding quality educational initiatives, and encouraging physical activity and civic engagement to foster healthy generations are key social objectives.

Geographically, Maltepe lies at the transition zone between the rainy climate of the Black Sea and the temperate climate of the Mediterranean. The district generally exhibits Mediterranean climate characteristics, with hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. Spring is cool and wet, while autumn is mild and rainy. On average, there are seven days of snowfall and 25 days of frost annually.^【12】 The prevailing winds in Maltepe are Poyraz and Lodos. Lodos winds cause sea storms, while Keşişleme and Kıble winds are influential during winter. Yıldız and Karayel winds are storm-bringing. Snowfall in winter is most persistent on the slopes of Başıbüyük, Gülsuyu and Gülensu hills. The air masses affecting Maltepe originate from the North Adriatic in spring, moving into the Black Sea and extending toward Crimea, and in autumn and winter from the south-east of the British Isles, influencing the Marmara and Black Sea regions.^【13】

^{A Winter Scene in Maltepe (}Maltepe Municipality⁾

Maltepe is one of Istanbul’s key transportation corridors, connected by road, rail and sea routes. Road transport was significantly enhanced by the construction of the Ankara Highway (E-5/D100), which began in 1953 and bisects the district, and its connection to the Bosphorus Bridge, opened in 1973. The coastal road, constructed more recently and following the shoreline, forms another major arterial route. In rail history, the Maltepe Railway Station opened in 1910 and resumed service in 1946 alongside the beach. In modern infrastructure, the M4 Metro line was inaugurated in 2012, and the suburban rail line, named “Marmaray”, was reopened in 2013.

^{A Train at Maltepe Railway Station (}Maltepe Municipality⁾

Since the second half of the 19th century, Maltepe has been a region of growing economic, social and administrative activity, developing an identity characterised by the coexistence of Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Following the Ottoman-Russian War of 1893, a significant migration occurred from the Kemah region of Erzincan toward Maltepe Centre. In the early years of the Republic, Turks from Drama were resettled in Maltepe through the population exchange in 1922. From the 1960s onward, the establishment of industrial facilities, workshops and factories, along with increased construction activity, attracted new labour migration. The population density rose as middle-class families unable to afford housing in central Istanbul settled in the apartment-dominated areas. Maltepe’s population in 2023 was recorded at 523,137, with a decline of 5,407 people, or 10.3 percent, observed in 2023.^【14】

Maltepe’s administrative history originates from its emergence as the coastal village of Obnias at the foot of Dragos Hill. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, it was administered as a Greek village under Üsküdar. In 1899, it was officially designated as a coastal village under the Adalar subdistrict. The same year, a petition for municipal status was submitted, and records from 1901 confirm the establishment of a municipal administration. In 1908, Maltepe remained a township under Kartal until it regained municipal status in 1928 and became one of Istanbul’s oldest municipalities. However, in 1980, both Maltepe and Küçükyalı municipalities were dissolved and replaced by the Maltepe Branch Directorate under the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality; in 1991, it was attached to Kartal Municipality. Finally, by Law No. 3806, published on 3 June 1992, Maltepe was separated from Kartal and granted independent district status, with Maltepe Municipality re-established.^【15】

^{Virgin Monument (}Maltepe Municipality⁾

Maltepe possesses significant tourist potential through its historical and natural coastal areas. Historically, it was a favoured summer retreat for the elite. Among its main tourist sites is Süreyya Beach, opened in 1947 and the largest beach in Istanbul during the 1940s. The Virgin Monument, part of the beach and one of three centres where women wishing to marry make wishes, was constructed in 1953 and remains an important cultural landmark. In terms of historical tourism, the district contains the Küçükyalı Archaeopark and the ruins of the Bryas Palace, built by Emperor Theophilos in imitation of the Abbasid palace in Baghdad. Excavations at Küçükyalı Bryas Palace began in 1995. In the context of coastal tourism and recreational areas, the Orhangazi Coastal Reclamation Park, opened in 2015 after land reclamation along the shore, is a major attraction.