Yeşilköy

Neighbourhood in the district of Bakırköy, Istanbul, Turkey

Yeşilköy (; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano Άγιος Στέφανος, Ayastefanos) is an affluent neighbourhood (mahalle) in the municipality and district of Bakırköy, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 25,039 (2022). on the Marmara Sea about west of Istanbul's historic city centre. Prior to the rapid increase of Istanbul's population in the 1970s, Yeşilköy was a secluded village and sea resort.

The mahalle is located along the Marmara Sea about 11 kilometres west of Istanbul's historical center. It is bordered by the districts of Yeşilyurt to the east, Ataköy to the northeast, Florya to the west, and the district of Küçükçekmece to the north. The western part of the district is called Çiroz.

The original name, San Stefano, in use until 1926, derives from a legend: in the early 13th century, the ship carrying Saint Stephen's relics to Rome from Constantinople, sacked by the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, was forced to stop here because of a storm. The relics were taken to a church until the sea calmed, and this gave the name to the church and to the place. In 1926, the village was named Yeşilköy which means "Green Village" in Turkish. It is believed that the writer Halit Ziya Uşakligil who lived there at the time gave this new name to the village. The sea receded 100 metres from the shore and the following tsunami created giant waves which devastated the coast. the demolition is thought to have been filmed by the first Turkish filmmaker Fuat Uzkınay and thus is officially deemed to be the birth of Turkish cinema.

Beginning in the late 1800s, San Stefano was a favourite coastal resort and hunting place for Constantinople's upper classes. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the village had a predominantly Christian population. Beginning in the late 1800s, San Stefano was a favourite coastal resort and hunting place for Constantinople's upper classes. It had a mixed population, composed of Turks, Greeks (now almost completely gone), Armenians and Levantines (Italian and French people, now mostly gone). On 3 August 2019, in the presence of the Patriarch of the Syriac Church, of Patriarch Bartholomew and of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Erdoğan laid in Yeşilköy the first stone of the Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church, the first church erected in Turkey since the foundation of the republic. The area chosen for the construction is a part of the ground of the ancient Levantine cemetery. and was inaugurated by Erdoğan on 8 October 2023.

In the Greek Orthodox Church of Aghios Stephanos on 26 December each year (Saint's Day), the ceremony named Thysias (Θυσίας) is celebrated. The objects decorating the lobby do not come from the Crespins, but from the collection of the current owners.

The church, possibly built where important personalities in Yeşilköy's history have been buried, is located on Mirasyedi Sokak. The current structure, which bears parts of the first church built in the Byzantine period on its façade, was built in 1845. The gate to the complex, which is separated from the street by a high wall, is noteworthy. The first building collapsed in the earthquake of 1894, and was replaced by a new temple.

In the vicinity of the Greek church, there is also an aghiasma, i. e. a Greek Orthodox sacred spring, dating back to the Byzantine period and dedicated to Aghia Fotini, located in the basement of a house and freely accessible from the street, which is a covered pedestrian pathway hosting several restaurants.

Yeşilköy has a station for the Marmaray commuter railway between Gebze and Halkalı. The first station, servicing the suburban railway line (Banliyö Treni) to Sirkeci, was built in 1871, and contributed to the neighbourhood's boom as a popular resort. The quarter is connected to the center of the city and to the nearby neighborhoods by bus. The Dolmuş lines which connected Yeşilköy with the center and Bakirköy have been discontinued after the entry into service of Marmaray. Istanbul Atatürk International Airport, formerly known as the Yeşilköy Airport, is located in this district.

The headquarters of Turkish Airlines are on the property of the airport. MyCargo Airlines (formerly ACT Airlines) has its head office in Level 4, Building A3 of the Istanbul World Trade Center (İstanbul Dünya Ticaret Merkezi) in Yeşilköy. Borajet also has its head office in Yeşilköy. When Bestair existed, its head office was in Yeşilköy. Yeşilköy has a Marina the Yeşilköy Burnu Marina and sandy beaches.

On the waterfront, a small museum dedicated to the village and its minorities has been opened in 2012.

San Stefano Peak on Rugged Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after the settlement, in connection with the Treaty of San Stefano.