Laleli (meaning 'with tulips' in Turkish) is a neighbourhood ofFatih,Istanbul, Turkey, lying betweenBeyazıt andAksaray. It is known for its large textile wholesaling business and is home to the Literature and Science Faculties ofIstanbul University, designed bySedad Hakkı Eldem andEmin Onat in the 1940s. It is served by a stop on the T1 tram line which runs along Ordu Caddesi.
The most prominent historic monument in Laleli is theLaleli Mosque, a work of architectMehmed Tahir Ağa that was originally constructed in the 1760s. It was built forSultan Mustafa III whose tomb it contains. An attractive sebil or water dispensary stands on the street side of the complex surrounding the mosque. The mosque stands above a large basement that is now filled with clothes shops.
Across the road from the mosque is theKoca Ragıp Paşa complex, also designed byMehmed Tahir Ağa in 1762. It was undergoing restoration for much of the 2010s.
Lurking in the back streets is the much olderBodrum Mosque (AKA Mesih Paşa Cami), which started life as a 10th-century Byzantine church attached to the Myreiaion Palace. Beside it is an underground cistern, probably of similar date. Both stand on the site of a lost Rotunda dating back to the fifth century which is believed to have been the second largest such circular Roman temple after thePantheon inRome itself.
Also in Laleli is the Big Stone Han (Büyük Taş Hanı in Turkish) which was probably part of the Laleli Mosque complex and contains the remains of another cistern.
Now a hotel, theTayyare (Harikzedegen) apartment block, was the first building made from reinforced concrete inConstantinople. It was designed by architectKemaleddin Bey to house those displaced by a fire inFatih in 1918.
Laleli is home to the so-called “suitcase trade,” where buyers from across theformer Soviet Union procure goods to sell in bazaars and boutiques back home. The trade is one of the strongest links between Istanbul and the former Soviet world, with cultural ties growing alongside the economic relationship. The largest market for the Laleli trade isRussia, followed byUkraine,Kazakhstan andUzbekistan.[1]
41°00′34″N28°57′28″E / 41.00944°N 28.95778°E /41.00944; 28.95778
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