Samatya (Greek: Ψαμάθεια, romanized: Psamatheia; Armenian: Սամաթիա) is a quarter of the Fatih district of Istanbul. It is located along the Marmara Sea, and borders to the west on the neighborhood of Yedikule (the "Castle of the Seven Towers").
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Samatya%2C_%C4%B0stanbul_%2812966675513%29.jpg/350px-Samatya%2C_%C4%B0stanbul_%2812966675513%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Istanbul_asv2021-11_img60_Yedikule.jpg/220px-Istanbul_asv2021-11_img60_Yedikule.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Church_of_Saint_Menas_01.jpg/220px-Church_of_Saint_Menas_01.jpg)
Etymology
editThe name originates from the Greek word psamathion (Ψαμάθιον), meaning "sandy", because of the great quantity of sand found in the quarter.[1]
History
editAbout 383 AD, the first monastic institution was established in Constantinople, at Psamatheia, at that time still outside the walled city.[2]
Up to recent times, Samatya was mostly inhabited by Armenians, who were settled here in 1458 by Sultan Mehmet II,[3] and who own there the church of Surp Kevork, also called Sulu Manastiri (Water's monastery) – previously an Eastern Orthodox church which dates back to before the Ottoman conquest,[3] and by Greeks, who have the churches of Hristos Analipsis and Haghios Menas.[4]
The quarter was destroyed in 1782 by one of the largest fires of Istanbul ever recorded.[3]
Samatya today
editIn Samatya there is also an important public hospital, the Istanbul Educational and Research Hospital İstanbul Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi.
Samatya has a station (named "Kocamustafapaşa") on the T6 line Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme.
Notable personalities
edit- Hrachia Acharian - Armenian linguist
- Simon Agopyan - Armenian painter
- Mihran Apikyan - Armenian writer and linguist
- Sevan Bıçakçı - Turkish jeweller
- Gomidas Keumurdjian - priest and martyr of the Armenian Catholic Church
- Levon Larents - Armenian writer
- Avedis Zildjian III - Armenian American cymbal maker
References
editSources
edit- Janin, Raymond (1964). Constantinople Byzantine (in French) (2 ed.). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines.
- Müller-Wiener, Wolfgang (1977). Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul bis zum Beginn d. 17 Jh (in German). Tübingen: Wasmuth. ISBN 978-3-8030-1022-3.
41°00′N 28°56′E / 41.000°N 28.933°E