Esenler

Esenler

Esenler is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey.[2] Its area is 43 km2,[3] and its population is 445,421 (2022).[1] It is on its European side. Esenler is mainly densely packed, working class residential in the midst of its industrial neighbouring districts of Gaziosmanpaşa, Güngören and Bağcılar. The mayor is Tevfik Göksu. In the Ottoman times this area, well outside the city walls, was the villages of Litros and Avas, populated by Greek farmers. During the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey, these villagers were deported and the area was then settled by Turks who had themselves been deported from Macedonia. Christian Orthodox Romani people from Esenler settled in Amaliada four decades after population exchange.[4] It was part of Bakırköy district till 1992 and Güngören between 1992 and 1994. There are 17 neighbourhoods in Esenler District:[5]