Başakşehir

Başakşehir
District
Location of Başakşehir in Istanbul Location of Başakşehir in Istanbul
Başakşehir Location of Başakşehir in Istanbul
Coordinates:
Country	Turkey
Region	Marmara
Province	İstanbul Province
District	Başakşehir
Government
• Mayor	Mevlüt Uysal (AKP)
Elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Population (2012)
• Urban	311,095
• District	316,176
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	34488-34494
Area code(s)	0212
Licence plate	34
Website	www.basaksehir.gov.tr www.basaksehir.bel.tr

Başakşehir is one of the 39 second-level districts in Greater Istanbul, Turkey. The population of Başakşehir is 311,095 as of 2012. It is in the European part of Istanbul.

Geography

Başakşehir is situated in the European portion (Rumeli) of İstanbul at . Sazlıdere Dam reservoir is to the northwest and Sea of Marmara is to the south. It is surrounded by other second-level districts of Istanbul, such as Eyüp, Sultangazi, Esenler, Bağcılar, Küçükçekmece, Avcılar, Esenyurt and Arnavutköy. (Istanbul is one of the 30 metropolitan centers in Turkey with more than one municipality within city borders.)

The Europe Motorway () starts at Mahmutbey in Başakşehir, and runs through the district in west direction to Edirne.

History

Former name of the area was Azatlık. The area specialized in providing gunpowder to the Ottoman army. Later a farm was established in place of Azatlık; the farm was known as Resneli farm referring to Resneli Niyazi, a military officer from Resen, Macedonia (then a part of Ottoman Empire), who was a hero of Young Turk Revolution in 1908. Up to 2009 most of Başakşehir was a quarter in Küçükçekmece district. Then it was declared a district seat.

Notable buildings

• Atatürk Olympic Stadium
• Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium