Florya is a quarter () belonging to the Bakırköy district of the greater
Istanbul,
Turkey. It is located along
Marmara Sea, and borders to the northeast the neighborhood of Yeşilköy, to the northwest that of Küçükçekmece. Its residents are relatively affluent. Florya has two stations along the
Marmaray: Florya and Florya Akvaryum.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and the first president of Turkey, used to spend his free time in his Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion swimming and enjoying the beautiful sandy beach.
Name
Florya's name, according to the
Byzantine Empire scholar
Michael Psellos, who found it cited in an imperial
Chrysobull, comes from the
Greek Language word "Phlorion" (Φλώριον).
[Janin (1964), p. 414] It is possibly derived from a certain Florus, who lived in this neighborhood during the early Byzantine age.
[ Until the 1920s the Ottoman name was "Fülürye".]
One part of the neighborhood is also called Şenlikköy.
Facilities
The Atatürk Marine Mansion, once summer residence of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and a museum today, is located at the shore of Marmara Sea.
Famous sports club Galatasaray SK has the club's training facilities in Florya. Also İstanbul Super Amateur League team Bakırköyspor plays its home games in Şenlikköy Stadium, which is located in Florya.
Florya Koleji, İstek Vakfı, İlke Koleji, Bahçeşehir Koleji are some of the local private colleges.
Economy
Airlines such as Freebird Airlines have their head office in Florya.[" Contact Us ." Freebird Airlines. Retrieved on 4 August 2011. "Yesilköy Cad. No:9 a Blok Daire:3-4 34153 Florya-Istanbul/TÜRKİYE"] Onur Air previously had its head office in Florya.[" Communication" () Onur Air. Retrieved on 17 February 2011. "Head Office Şenlikköy Mah. Çatal Sokak No. 3 34153 Florya - İstanbul/TÜRKİYE." Map .]
Sources
