Üsküdar (Leander's Tower)
The best way to get to Üsküdar is to take the car ferry which plies regularly across the Bosporus, here 2km/1.25mi from the Kabatas landing-stage (2km/1.25mi northeast of the Galata Bridge). On an islet just off the Asiatic shore stands Leander's Tower (in Turkish Kiz Kulesi, "Maiden's Tower"), 30m/100ft high, with a signal station and a lighthouse.
Istanbul's outlying district of Üsküdar, traditionally known as Scutari, on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus, is the city's largest suburb.
Istanbul's outlying district of Üsküdar, traditionally known as Scutari, on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus, is the city's largest suburb.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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With its handsome old mosques, winding lanes and weathered brown timber houses (particularly between the landing-stage and the large cemetery) it has preserved more of its traditional Oriental character than the Old Town of Istanbul. The town, known in antiquity as Chrysopolis, was one of the earliest Greek settlements on the Bosporus. It was much more exposed to attack by foreign conquerors than was Constantinople with its defensive situation and strong walls, but it was able to draw economic advantage from its exposed situation: until 1800 it was the terminus of the caravan routes which brought the treasures of the East to Constantinople, from which they were sent to Europe.
Related Attractions
Üsküdar - Cemetery
The cemetery (Karacaahmet Mezarligi) on the hill southeast of Üsküdar (1.5km/1mi) from landing-stage; buses) is the largest in the East, with ancient cypresses and large numbers of marble tombstones. At its north end is an old Convent of the Howling Dervishes.
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Üsküdar - Haydarpasa
Eastward from the Selimiye Camii in Üsküdar, reached by turning right along Tibbiye Caddesi, passing a large school (1934), we reach the large suburb of Haydarpasa, with port installations and, directly on the Sea of Marmara, the handsome terminus of the Anatolian Railway.
Üsküdar - Kadiköy
To the south of the railroad lines lies the suburb of Kadiköy, on the site of the ancient Greek city of Kalchedon (Chalcedon), founded about 675 B.C., which in Roman times was capital of the province of Bithynia and later the see of an archbishop. The Fourth Ecumenical Council met here in 451.
Üsküdar - Selimiye Camii
West of the cemetery in Üsküdar, near the sea, is the Selimiye Camii, built by Selim III; to the southwest are the Selimiye Barracks, a huge complex with four corner towers in which Florence Nightingale established her hospital during the Crimean War.
