If you want to be both in the city and green as much as possible, Polonezköy is waiting for you.. I went to Polonezköy, which is connected to Istanbul Beykoz, twice years ago, but I don’t remember it at all.. While I was forgetting, I thought I would visit the nature in this wonderful location again after years.. At the moment when I am writing my article, it is autumn. Even if you are studying in a different period, let’s prepare a hot ginger tea for yourself. The Polonezköy summer begins.. For Polonezköy, which is connected to Istanbul Beykoz, I will not say how many kilometers from here because it is almost in a central place.. It is a forested area and is located in the inner parts of Beykoz.. You will see a mixture of Turkish and Polish cultures in this village where Poles live predominantly.. So why do Poles predominate in this village? If you say so, let’s talk about the reason right away.
Why Poles Live in Polonezköy?
The arrival of the Poles to this village dates back 160 years on average.. 18. Poland at the end of the century; Austria is occupied by Russia and Prussia. The Ottoman State, witnessing this difficult situation in Poland, allocated the area where the current village is located as a place of refuge for Polish political immigrants..
In 1856, when the Ottoman Empire entered the Crimean War, the immigrants fleeing from Poland immediately took action and joined the war with the Ottoman Empire.. After the end of the war, with the decision of Sultan Abdulmecit, the lands where the present Polonezköy is located were determined as the living place for the Poles and this place was leased to them indefinitely.. The village has now become the most prominent symbol of Turkish-Polish solidarity.
After a while, our state started to issue citizenship certificates to refugees living here.. There are now Poles still living in the village today.. As they embraced life here, they started to get involved in business life.. The most popular job in the village is boarding..
Places to Visit in Polonezköy
Polonezköy Nature Park;
We are in the most popular and preferred place in the village. You can either take a walk among the trees or have a picnic in the nature park.. If you want, you can take a day trip or stay in the hostels around.. There are many accommodation and restaurants in the nature park.. If you don’t like this place again, and I’m sure you will, you can go to Esenceli village if you want.. It is also very beautiful there.
Church of Our Lady of Czestochova;
It is difficult to find the church, which was built in 1914, open on weekdays, unfortunately it was closed to visitors on the day I went.. If you want to see the church, it is located at the entrance of the nature park.
Hiking Trail
The best activity you can do here is a nature walk.. The place where you can take this peaceful walk is in the nature park.. I definitely recommend the 5 km walking track, which is intertwined with nature.. You can walk on the non-challenging track very easily with your children.
Bicycle Track
The track where the races organized by the Turkish Federation every year is located here.. The track in the nature park, which extends to Riva and Ümraniye, consists of 60 km.. If you are a bike lover like me, I recommend you not to miss this route..
Zofia Rızı Memorial House
We are obviously in front of one of the oldest houses in the village.. Suddenly I see the photos hanging on the garden railings. Each of the photographs is the history of Polonezköy… This is an exhibition with photographs of every period, from the girl playing folklore to the view of their graveyards years ago..
Glass Art Center
I noticed the Glass Art Center, which is very close to the memorial house, as I was passing by and immediately went inside.. This is a beautiful place where they make almost anything you can think of, from smurfs to glass art..
This not very preferred natural beauty that hides itself made me love it, I hope you like it too and have a nice time. For now, love from Polonezköy, see you in my next article…
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