Three Lives of the Same Water: Tuzla

1. 01
   History

   Start on a Platform with 1873 Roots

   Begin at Tuzla Train Station, originally built in 1873 as part of the Constantinople–Izmit line. It later passed to the Anatolian Railway in 1888, then to TCDD in 1927, was renewed in 1949, closed between 2013 and 2018, and rebuilt for Marmaray. So you are visiting a 150-year-old station that now operates in a completely new building.

   Tuzla Tren İstasyonu, Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02↗
   History

   Confirm That Tuzla Takes Its Name from Salt

   Visit Tuzla Eski Cami, also known as İdris Baba, to connect the district's name to its salt-trading past. This is not just a legend: salt sellers were recorded here in an Ottoman land register dated 1530. Before the Ottoman era, the area was called Akritas and had a Greek fishing village that lasted until the 1923 population exchange. The mosque itself dates to the 16th century.

   Sultan 1. Ahmet Cami (Eski Cami), Eski Cami Sokak No:30, Tuzla, İstanbul
3. 03
   Local

   Sit Where the Fishing Village Once Stood

   Pause at Tuzla Sahil Parkı, a 123,000-square-meter waterfront park built along the shore where the old Greek fishing village once stood. Today there are running paths, sports fields, and courts. To the west on the horizon, you can see shipyard cranes: the same coastline first supported fishing, then ship industry, and now leisure.

   Tuzla Sahil Parkı, Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04
   Culture

   Find the Water Behind a Forty-Day Festival

   Finish at Tuzla İçmeler, where Evliya Çelebi wrote in the 17th century that every July, during cherry season, thousands came to camp for forty days and forty nights for a water cure. In 1926, the site received a 77-year operating concession, and business began the following year. Today, thermal hotels stand around the same water.

   Tuzla İçmeler, Istanbul, Turkey

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