Sarıyer and the Bosphorus at a Winter Evening

After a cold December day in Istanbul, I found myself walking along the coast from Sarıyer toward Büyükdere. The light was fading, but not quite gone yet – the hour when the Bosphorus turns a deep, layered blue and everything feels calmer. Winter evenings here have a particular stillness; fishermen gather their lines, ferries hum quietly in the distance, and the restaurants along the shore begin preparing for the long night ahead, especially with New Year’s Eve just around the corner.

The air was crisp and a little salty, and the reflections of the city lights shimmered softly on the water. Sarıyer is one of the few districts where the Bosphorus still feels close to nature. As I walked, I stopped a few times just to watch the scene: the quiet movement of the sea, the silhouettes of the hills surrounding the Bosphorus, and the gentle blur of life along the waterfront. I took the photos below on December 26, 2021. It was an ordinary walk, nothing planned, but the kind of moment where the city shows its quiet, understated beauty.

Evening at the Sarıyer shore, Istanbul. December 26, 2021.

Related: A beautiful sunset in Istanbul

Sarıyer

Sarıyer (literally the “yellow land” in English) is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. The Sarıyer district is a huge area consisting of the villages on the European side of the Bosphorus from Rumelifeneri (Rumeli Lighthouse), down through Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan, to Rumelihisarı. It has a population of approximately 260,000 (as of 2021).

The village of Bahçeköy (which literally means Garden-Ville) and a big part of the Belgrade Forest are also within the district’s boundaries.

The origins of the Sarıyer name

There are different explanations about the origin of the name Sarıyer, which literally means the “Yellow Land” in English, as explained above. But, most probably, some of these explanations are (or maybe all of them) probably fictitious. Here are the explanations:

Two blond soldiers of Fatih Sultan Mehmed (Fatih the Conqueror) were buried here, next to the Central Mosque, so the region was called the “Yellow Land” after losing its original saying “yellow soldiers of Fatih”.
Because of the gold that the rich Egyptian tourists spent in the region, which has long been a picnic area, especially the Belgrade Forest.
There were gold mines in the district (which is not true; there were coal mines, not gold).
The blonde girl that Sultan has fallen in love with. This tale also suggests that the original name of the district was “Sarıyar” (sarı yar), which means “the blonde beloved”.
There are a lot of Spartium flowers (also known as the Spanish broom, rush broom, or weaver’s broom) growing in the area. Some sources suggest that these yellow flowers are the source of the name of the district.