Florya

Florya is a neighborhood (Turkish: mahalle) belonging to the Bakırköy district of the greater Istanbul, Turkey. It is located along Marmara Sea, and borders to the northeast the neighborhood of Yeşilköy, to the northwest that of Küçükçekmece. Its residents are relatively affluent. Florya has a station along the Marmaray Commuter Line.

Atatürk marine mansion in Florya

Atatürk, the founder and the first president of Turkey, used to spend his free time in his Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion swimming and enjoying the beautiful sandy beach.

Name

Florya's name, according to the Byzantine scholar Michael Psellos, who found it cited in an imperial Chrysobull, comes from the Greek word "Phlorion".[1] It is possibly derived from a certain Florus, who lived in this neighborhood during the early Byzantine age.[1]

One part of the neighborhood is also called Şenlikköy.

Facilities

The Atatürk Marine Mansion, once summer residence of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and a museum today, is located at the shore of Marmara Sea.

Famous sports club Galatasaray SK has the club's training facilities in Florya. Also İstanbul Super Amateur League team Bakirkoyspor plays its home games in Şenlikköy Stadium, which is located in Florya.

Florya Koleji, Istek Vakfi, Ilke Koleji, Bahçeşehir Koleji are some of the local private colleges.

Renowned kebap restaurant Beyti is situated in a three-story building in Florya.

Economy

Airlines such as Freebird Airlines have their head office in Florya.[2] Previously Onur Air had its head office in Florya.[3]

References

1. Janin (1964), p. 414
2. "Contact Us Archived 2014-07-16 at the Wayback Machine." Freebird Airlines. Retrieved on 4 August 2011. "Yesilköy Cad. No:9 a Blok Daire:3-4 34153 Florya-Istanbul/TÜRKİYE"
3. "Communication" () Onur Air. Retrieved on 17 February 2011. "Head Office Şenlikköy Mah. Çatal Sokak No. 3 34153 Florya - İstanbul/TÜRKİYE." Map.

Sources

• Janin, Raymond (1964). Constantinople Byzantine (in French) (2 ed.). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines.