Ayvansaray is a picturesque neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Fatih, Istanbul Province, Turkey.[1] Its population is 15,747 (2022).[2] It is on the Golden Horn, between Balat and Eyüpsultan. It lies inside what was the walled city on Constantinople and later of İstanbul and corresponds to the old quarter of Blachernae (Vlachérnai in Greek).
The Golden Horn ferry stops at Ayvansaray, linking it to Üsküdar, Karaköy, Kasımpaşa, Fener, Balat, Hasköy, Sütlüce and Eyüp. The T5 tram also skirts Ayvansaray, linking it to the bus terminal at Alibeyköy (with services to Anatolia) and to Cibali.
The remains of the great Theodosian Land Walls run down to the Golden Horn, enclosing Ayvansaray behind three huge polygonal towers. Just inside this stretch of the walls is the small cemetery attached to the shrine of Ebu Şeybet-ül Hudri; in it are buried several companions of the Prophet Mohammed as well as Toklu İbrahim Dede who is believed to have taken part in the battle to capture Constantinople from the Byzantines in 1453.[4]
Notes
^Mahalle, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023.