Çatalca

Çatalca is a city and a rural district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is in Thrace, on the ridge between the Marmara and the Black Sea. Most people living in Çatalca are either farmers or those visiting vacation homes. Many families from Istanbul come to Çatalca during weekends to hike in the forests or have picnics. Çatalca's ancient Greek name was Ergískē (Ἐργίσκη). According to Suida, the name is after Ergiscus, a son of Poseidon through the naiad Aba. Çatalca was settled throughout the Ottoman period, with a typical Ottoman mixed population of Greeks and Turks. The Crimean War caused a mass exodus of Crimean Tatars towards Ottoman lands. A few Crimean Tatars settled in Çatalca. In the First Balkan War the Bulgarian army had driven the...