Memory of the Ground: Küçükçekmece Lagoon

1. 01
   History

   Pause at Rome’s Western Gate

   Stand at the lake-side end of Küçükçekmece Bridge, where the main westbound route from the capital once passed along the Via Egnatia. Justinian commissioned a stone-arched bridge here in the 6th century, and Mehmed the Conqueror had it repaired in 1455. It stretches about 210 meters. Even its authorship is still debated: it is often attributed to Sinan, but some sources point instead to his predecessor Acem Ali.

   Küçükçekmece Köprüsü, Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02
   Nature

   Start Counting 166 Species

   Walk the southern shore of Küçükçekmece Lagoon and read the landscape as a lagoon rather than a lake: an old bay that still keeps its connection to the sea. Covering about sixteen square kilometers, it is home to a recorded 166 bird species, including swans, storks, herons, and eagles. The municipality even published a 300-page book with a birdwatching map for the area.

   Küçükçekmece Gölü south shore walking path, Istanbul, Turkey
3. 03
   Exploration

   Weigh the Nameless City from Across the Water

   Face the Firuzköy Peninsula excavation area from the opposite shore and consider the unresolved identity of the ancient settlement across the lagoon. Excavations have continued there since 2009, revealing two harbors, two piers just a hundred meters apart, a 7,000-cubic-meter cistern, mosaic-decorated structures, and an ancient lighthouse now underwater. The city’s original name remains unknown, and the commonly used modern label is only a proposal that has drawn academic objections.

   Viewpoint facing Firuzköy Yarımadası kazı alanı from the east shore of Küçükçekmece Lagoon, Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04◆
   Culture

   Read the Ground’s Second Lesson

   Stop outside the Halkalı School of Agriculture building, where modern agricultural education in Turkey began when the school started admitting students in 1892. It closed in 1928, but the building still stands and is now used by a university. In the same district, the ground delivered a second lesson in 1999: aftershocks measured here produced ground motion two to four times stronger than in Yeşilköy.

   Halkalı Ziraat Mekteb-i Âlîsi binası, Istanbul, Turkey

Check opening hours before you go. Hours, access conditions and weather can change.