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Üsküdar Üsküdar Belediyesi
Municipality of Üsküdar
Kızkulesi (Maiden's Tower), off the coast of Üsküdar (Europe is background)
Coordinates (Municipal Building): 41°1′26.36″N 29°0′59.48″E / 41.0239889°N 29.0165222°E / 41.0239889; 29.0165222
Country	Turkey
Province	Istanbul Province
Made a municipality of Istanbul	1984
Neighborhoods	List Acıbadem Ahmediye Altunizade Aziz Mahmud Hudayı Bahçelievler Barbaros Beylerbeyi Bulgurlu Burhaniye Çengelköy Cumhuriyet Ferah Güzeltepe İcadiye Kandilli Kirazlıtepe Kısıklı Küçük Çamlıca Küçüksu Kuleli Küplüce Kuzguncuk Mehmet Akif Ersoy Mimar Sinan Murat Reis Salacak Selamiali Selimiye Sultantepe Ünalan Validei Atik Yavuztürk Zeynep Kamil
Government
• Mayor	Mustafa Kara (AKP)
Area[1]
• Total	35.7 km2 (13.8 sq mi)
Population (2008)[2]
• Total	524,889
• Density	15,000/km2 (38,000/sq mi)
Twin cities
• Shibuya	Japan
• Kemah	Turkey
• Bakhchisaray	Ukraine
• Göynük	Turkey
Website	http://www.uskudar.bel.tr

Üsküdar (Turkish pronunciation: [ysˈcydaɾ]) is a large and densely populated municipality (belediye (Turkish)) of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered on the north by Beykoz, on the east by Ümraniye, on the southeast by Ataşehir, on the south by Kadıköy, and on the west by the Bosphorus, with the areas of Beşiktaş, Beyoğlu, and Eminönü on the opposite shore. It is home to about half a million people. Üsküdar is also the usual name for the historic center of the municipality.

History[link]

Scutari.

Üsküdar (ancient Greek Chrysopolis (Χρυσόπολις), medieval Scutari(on) (Σκουτάριον)) was a city in Bithynia founded in the 7th century BC,^{[citation needed]} in a valley leading down to the Bosphorus shore, by the inhabitants of the Greek colony of Khalkedon and was first known as Chrysopolis (city of gold), perhaps because it was a wealthy port, or because of the way it shone when viewed from Byzantium at sunset.^{[citation needed]} According to an ancient Greek geographer, the city received the name Chrysopolis because the Persian empire had a gold depository there or because it was associated with Agamemnon and Chryseis' son Chryses.^[3] An eighteenth-century writer speculated that it received the name because of the excellence of its harbor.^[4] The city was used as a harbor and shipyard and was an important staging post in the wars between the Greeks and Persians. In 410 BC Chrysopolis was walled by the Athenian general Alcibiades.

As its larger and more important neighbor across the Bosphorus grew, the town became a toll-booth for the Bosphorus and later became the first point of defense of Constantinople against the Ottoman armies. The name Skutarion came from the Roman soldiers stationed there, who were known for their thick leather shields (skutari).^[5] To no avail, however; by the time Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453, Üsküdar had already been in Turkish hands for 100 years.^{[citation needed]}

In the Ottoman period Üsküdar was one of the three communities outside the city walls of Constantinople (along with Eyüp and Galata). The area was a major burial ground, and today many large cemeteries remain, including Karacaahmet Mezarlığı, Bülbülderesi Mezarlığı, and a number of Jewish and Christian cemeteries. Karacaahmet Mezarlığı is one of Istanbul's largest cemeteries. Bülbülderesi Mezarlığı is said to be the favored burial place of the Sabetay community, including the educator Şemsi Efendi; this cemetery is next to Fevziye Hatun mosque, also said to be a center of Sabetay culture.^[6]

Üsküdar today[link]

The waterfront of Üsküdar as seen from Maiden Tower.

The district of Üsküdar is Istanbul's oldest-established residential suburb^{[citation needed]} and still fills that role today. It has a more relaxed atmosphere than the more crowded European side of the city,^{[citation needed]} yet is directly opposite the old city of Eminönü and transport across the Bosphorus is easy by boat or bridge. So there are well-established communities here, many retired people, and many residents commute to the European side for work or school (being cheap and central Üsküdar has a large student population). During the rush-hour, the waterfront is bustling with people running from ferryboats and motorboats onto buses and minibuses. Üsküdar also has the smell of the sea, the sound of foghorns, motorboats and seagulls and one of the best views of the city.

Central Üsküdar on a snowy day, with Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in the background

As of 2006, the central square is being dug up for a tunnel under the Bosphorus which will carry an underground railway. However, this is predictably continuously running into artifacts of great archaeological value.

The area behind the ferry dock is a busy shopping district, with many restaurants (including the well-known Kanaat Lokantasi serving Ottoman cuisine, olive oil-based dishes, and ice cream) and a number of important Ottoman mosques (see section below). However, there are relatively few cafes, cinemas, billiard halls, and places for youth to congregate.^{[citation needed]}

The private Istanbul Commerce University, owned by the chamber of commerce, has a site here.

Neighborhoods[link]

Üsküdar, oil on canvas by Haydar Hatemi

Ahmet III Fountain in the square

Üsküdar is a municipality within borders of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (büyükşehir). The municipality is subdivided into neighborhoods (mahalleler). The boundaries and names of the official neighborhoods change from time to time and sometimes do not correspond to historically recognized neighborhoods or to residents' own perceptions.

The most prominent neighborhood is Üsküdar's historic center (merkez), centered on the ferry docks and roughly corresponding to the current Mimar Sinan neighborhood (former Selmanağa, Tembel Hacı Mehmet, and İnkılap neighborhoods). This area includes large historic mosques, many businesses and markets, and is a transportation hub.

Other prominent neighborhoods include the former villages on the Bosphorus to the north of the historic center, Kuzguncuk, Beylerbeyi, Çengelköy, Kuleli, Vaniköy (now part of Kandilli), and Kandilli; the neighborhoods along the Bosphorus shore south of the historic center, Salacak, Harem (now part of Aziz Mahmud Hudayı), and Selimiye; and the mostly residential neighborhoods on the hilltops and hillsides, Doğancılar (now mostly part of Aziz Mahmud Hudayı), İmrahor (now part of Salacak), Selamsız (now part of Selamiali), Bağlarbaşı (now part of Altunizade), Altunizade, Acıbadem, Küçük Çamlıca, and Büyük Çamlıca (mostly in Kısıklı, Burhaniye, and Ferah).

Salacak[link]

Üsküdar's long promenade along the coast from the center down in southern direction towards the bus station at Harem is popular in summer as it commands excellent views of the European shore of Topkapı Palace, Aya Sofya, Sultan Ahmed Mosque (The Blue Mosque), Taksim and Beşiktaş. This promenade is lined with cafes and restaurants, the most famous and prominent of which is not on the coast but out in the water: Kız Kulesi (Maiden's Tower), a small tower just off the coast that has existed since Byzantine times. From time to time it has been used as a toll booth; now it is used as an upscale restaurant and a venue for wedding parties. The name comes from a legend about a princess shut in the tower.^{[citation needed]}

On nice days people gather on the shore to fish, sit and drink tea or to enjoy being out on the water in little rowing boats. There is a more recent mosque (1760) on the shore opposite the tower. The streets of Salacak behind the coast, in the area called Imrahor, are attractive and still hold a number of classic Ottoman wooden houses. The legendary 17th century Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi is said to have landed here on his hang-glider flight across the Bosphorus.^{[citation needed]}

The area was excellently portrayed in the cartoons of comic artist Tekin Aral in his book 'Salacak Öyküleri' [1]

Further down along the coast is the Harem neighborhood, which contains a major intercity bus terminal and the Selimiye Barracks where Florence Nightingale once tended wounded British soldiers.

Behind the coast, towards the east, Üsküdar climbs steeply into the residential areas uphill, Bağlarbaşı and Doğancılar.

Doğancılar[link]

A pleasant neighborhood on the hill above Salacak, with plenty of trees between the buildings and a small park. There is a wide avenue winding uphill from Üsküdar, which has plenty of shops and cafes, and also a theater (the Musahipzade Celal Sahnesi), the fire station, the former women's prison (Paşakapısı Prison), Burhan Felek High School and Doğancılar mosque (opposite the park).

Bağlarbaşı and Altunizade[link]

Altunizade Mosque

Formerly orchards and fruit-gardens (the meaning of bağ in Turkish). In the 19th century it became a residential neighborhood, home to the typical Istanbul urban mix of Greeks, Jews, Turks, and Armenians.^{[citation needed]} The neighborhood still has an Armenian school and the Armenian church of Surp Garabed, built in 1844. This community suffered in the anti-Christian violence of September 6, 1955, Istanbul Pogrom and many Greeks and Armenians left.^{[citation needed]} Until the 1990s the area remained a middle-class residential neighborhood,^{[citation needed]} and today is still an attractive district with a mixture of housing and office/commercial property. A number of properties have been converted to office and business use. Altunizade is still an attractive residential neighborhood, home to the large and busy Capitol shopping and entertainment center. Altunizade was established in early 19th cc by Altunizade Ismael Zuhtu Pasha. He had also erected Altunizade mosque which was built in 1866. Altunizade was also flourished by Albanian klanlarets who had immigrated between 1870-1898 from Bar and Burrel. There are a number of well-known schools here including Üsküdar American Academy, one of the oldest established schools in the city (formerly the American Academy for Girls)^{[citation needed]}; Üsküdar High School, a state school with an intensive German language program^{[citation needed]}; Haydarpasha High School^{[citation needed]}; Marmara University's faculty of theology^{[citation needed]}; and Burhan Felek sports complex.^{[citation needed]}

Selamsız[link]

Selamsız is an old residential neighborhood, home to a Roma (Gypsy) community and Roma culture.^{[citation needed]}

Acıbadem[link]

The top half of the attractive district of Acıbadem also belongs to Üsküdar, including Acıbadem and Academic hospitals. This avenue with its wonderful patisseries, ice-cream parlors and cafes, is the center one of the most pleasant neighborhoods of Istanbul, consisting of tree-lined streets and well-planned housing areas, as well as Çamlıca Girls High School set in a lovely tree-lined garden.

Up the Bosphorus[link]

The boundary of the municipality of Üsküdar is far up the Bosphorus, and beyond lies Beykoz. The Bosphorus is among the more beautiful features of Istanbul. However, going up the Bosphorus from Üsküdar on the Anatolian side it is hard to find places to sit and enjoy the view; the coastal strip is either too narrow or is built on.

Üsküdar's up-north Bosphorus villages include:

Paşalimanı[link]

Just past Üsküdar the coastline is called Paşalimanı. Liman means "port" in Turkish and boats would moor here. A large stone building on the shore, built as a tobacco warehouse by late-Ottoman architect Vedat Tek, has been completely renovated and now serves as headquarters of Ciner Grubu (Ciner Group), an industrial conglomerate. There is a small area of parkland right on the shore and the entrance to the large Fetih Paşa Korusu park is here.

Kuzguncuk[link]

A Bosphorus village of streets with little shops, seaside cafes, and many old-fashioned wooden houses, Kuzguncuk has a village atmosphere. There is a ferry dock and a little park on the waterfront. The village was called Kosinitsa in the Byzantine period and until recently the people of Kuzguncuk were the typical Istanbul cosmopolitan mixture of Turks, Greeks, Jews, and Armenians.^{[citation needed]} There are very few non-Muslims left today and the area has become an attractive middle-class neighborhood, home to people like film director Uğur Yücel, sculptor Kuzgun Acar, painter Acar Başkut (whose studio is in the village), architects Nevzat Sayin and Cengiz Bektaş, and the late poet Can Yücel. The neighborhood is also portrayed in the novel Mediterranean Waltz (Kumral Ada Mavi Tuna) by Buket Uzuner.

Beylerbeyi[link]

Just beyond the Bosphorus bridge is Beylerbeyi, an area famous in Istanbul for its fish restaurants, and for the Ottoman palace on the shore. The Sabancı family of Turkish industrialists have sponsored the restoration and building of the school, police station and other public buildings, thus making them appropriate to the many very attractive houses and shops in the village.

Çengelköy[link]

Formerly a quiet waterfront village, famous for the cucumbers grown in gardens on the green hillsides behind. There are a number of very grand seaside villas (yalı). The village has a number of shops, bakeries and waterfront cafes offering gorgeous views of the Bosphorus that tend to be busy, especially at weekends. Since the mid-1990s new housing estates have been built on the hillsides and now there are always queues of traffic through Çengelköy. But the village retains some of its romantic charm. The word çengel means "hook" or "anchor" in Turkish while köy means "village"; apparently there were blacksmiths or metalworkers in the village in Ottoman times.^{[citation needed]}

The highly prestigious Kuleli Military High School is on the Bosphorus just beyond Çengelköy. Most graduates from here go on to military academy and careers as army officers.

Inland from the center of Üsküdar[link]

Çamlıca[link]

This hill, known as Tchamlidja in 19th-century spelling, has the highest point in Istanbul and commands a panoramic view of the entire city.

Sights of Üsküdar[link]

Yeni Valide Camii (The New Mosque of Mother Sultan)

Though densely populated, Üsküdar has many areas of greenery, including the Çamlıca hills, the Bosphorus coastline, and various parks. In addition, the area has a high concentration of historic buildings and religious sites.

Parks[link]

Fethi Paşa Korusu is a large park on the hillside coming right down to the Bosphorus shore slightly beyond Üsküdar in the area called Paşalimanı. It is named after Fetih Ahmet Paşa an Ottoman prince who among other things was responsible for industrializing the glassworks of Ottoman Turkey, and had a home in the area. The parkland is in fact privately owned and let to the state on condition that it is preserved as a park. The owners are the estate of pioneer Turkish industrialist Nuri Demirağ. There is a cafe in the park, a stone waterfall which children climb on and a small stage area where on Friday evenings in summer a band of amateur musicians give open-air concerts at sunset. At weekends the young lovers of Üsküdar collect here to stroll and cuddle in the shade.

Mosques[link]

Çinili (Tiled) Mosque

The wooden Namazgâh Mosque

Üsküdar is home to over 180 mosques,^[7] many of them historic Ottoman buildings, many built for women of the imperial harem, and many built by the famous architect Mimar Sinan. Among the first things one sees on arriving by ferry are the two mosques on either side of the ferry port, both designed by Sinan. The larger one is the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, sometimes called the İskele (Dock) Mosque, built by a daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent; the smaller one is the Şemsi Pasha Mosque, built by a vizier of Suleiman's. Şemsi Pasha has a small library building in the courtyard where one can sit and enjoy the sea breeze off the Bosphorus.

A little further inland between the fountain of Ahmet III and the Şemsi Pasha Mosque is the large Yeni Valide Mosque, built by Ahmet III's mother. Uphill from the dock in the Valideiatik neighborhood is the Atik Valide Mosque, built by Murat III's mother and also designed by Sinan. Further uphill from there is the smaller Çinili (Tiled) Mosque. In Karacaahmet Cemetery is the large Şakirin Mosque, built in 2009.

The Namazgâh Mosque (built in 1860) in the eastern part of Üsküdar, close to the border with Ümraniye, is one of the few historical wooden mosques in Istanbul.

Other important mosques of Üsküdar include Ahmediye, Ahmet Ağa, Ahmet Çelebi, Altunizade, Ayazma, Aziz Mahmut Hudai, Baki Efendi, Beylerbeyi, Bodrumi Ömer Lütfi Efendi, Bostancı, Bulgurlu, Çakırcıbaşı, Fatih, Gülfem Hatun, Hacı Ömer, İmrahor, İranlılar, İstavroz, Kandilli, Kara Davut Pasha, Kaymak Mustafa Pasha, Kısıklı, Küleli Bahçe, Malatyalı İsmail Ağa, Mirzazade, Paşalimanı, Rum Mehmet Pasha, Selimiye, Solak Sinan, Tahır Efendi, Üryanizade, and Vanikoy.

Churches[link]

The Surp Krikor Lusavoriç (Saint Gregory the Illuminator) Armenian Church

Churches of Üsküdar include the İlya Profiti (Prophet Elijah) Greek Orthodox Church in Murat Reis (present building built 1831), the Surp Garabet (Saint John the Baptist) Armenian Church in Murat Reis (first church on the site, 1590; present building built 1888), the Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Armenian Church in Selami Ali (built 1676, rebuilt 1880), the Surp Krikor Lusavoriç (Saint Gregory the Illuminator) Armenian Church in Kuzguncuk (first built 1835, rebuilt 1861), and the Surp Yergodasan Arakelots (Twelve Apostoles) Armenian Church in Kandilli (built 1846).^[8][9]

Synagogues[link]

Synagogues of Üsküdar include Bet Yaakov (built 1878) and Bet Nissim (built in the 1840s).^[10]

Other religious buildings[link]

Important tekkes (dervish lodges) include the Aziz Mahmud Hudayi Tekke (Aziz Mahmud Hudayi (1541–1628), who is buried in Üsküdar was the founder of the Jelveti Sufi order)^{[citation needed]}; the Nasuhi Efendi Tekke (Nasuhi Efendi was the founder of the Nasuhiyye Khalwati Sufi order^{[citation needed]} and the grandfather of the Turkish American music producer Ahmet Ertegün, and the Özbekler Tekkesi where the Ertegün family members are buried.

Important tombs in Üsküdar include those of Aziz Mahmud Hudayi, Hacı Ahmet Pasha, Halil Pasha, İbrahim Edhem Pasha, Karaca Ahmet, and Rum Mehmet Pasha.

Çeşmes and sebils[link]

Other notable Ottoman features to be seen in Üsküdar are the many çeşmes (drinking water sources) and sebils (kiosks for distribution of drinks). One of the largest and most visible çeşmes is the fountain of Ahmet III (1728–29), an impressive marble structure in the center of Üsküdar near the ferry docks.

Other important çeşmes of Üsküdar include Gülnuş Emetullah Valide Sultan (1709, next to the Yeni Valide Mosque), Hüseyin Avni Pasha (1874, Paşalimanı), Mustafa III (1760, next to the Ayazma Mosque), and Selim III (1802, in Çiçekçi, Harem İskelesi Street).^[11]

Important sebils of Üsküdar include those of Hacı Hüseyin Pasha (1865, near the Karacaahmet Cemetery), Halil Pasha (1617, attached to Halil Pasha's tomb), Hudayi (first built in the 1590s but later much remodeled, near Aziz Mahmud Hudayi's tomb), Sadettin Efendi (1741, near the tomb of Karacaahmet Cemetery), Şeyhülislam Arif Hikmet Bey (1858, near the Kartal Baba Mosque), Valide Çinili (1640, next to the Çinili Mosque), Valide-i Cedid (1709, next to the Yeni Valide Mosque), and Ziya Bey (1866, near the tomb of Karacaahmet).^[12]

Museums[link]

The Florence Nightingale Museum inside the Selimiye Barracks in Selimiye displays items associated with Nightingale and her medical work in Istanbul during the Crimean War. The Beylerbeyi Palace Museum in Beylerbeyi shows the palace built for Abdülaziz in the 1860s.

Twin towns[link]

Twin municipalities[link]

• Saraj, Skopje^[13]

Notable Residents[link]

• Maximus the Confessor - Byzantine monk, theologian and scholar. He entered a monastery in Chrysopolis in early 7th century.^[14]
• Philippicus - Byzantine general. He was a monk in a monastery in Chrysopolis between 602 and 610, and he was also buried in a church in Chrysopolis.^[15]
• Sergius I of Constantinople - Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.^[16]
• Patriarch Pyrrhus of Constantinople - Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.^[17]
• Alexios Mosele - Byzantine aristocrat and general.^[18]
• Michael III - Byzantine Emperor
• Florence Nightingale - English nurse, writer and statistician
• Mehmet Akif Ersoy - Turkish poet of the Turkish National Anthem
• Halide Edip Adıvar - Turkish novelist and feminist political leader
• Şeker Ahmed Pasha - Turkish painter
• Mehmed Orhan - Turkish aristocrat who was the 42nd head (pretender to the throne) of the Ottoman Dynasty
• Münir Ertegün - Turkish legal counsel in international law to the Ottoman Empire and diplomat of Republic of Turkey
• Ahmet Ertegün - Turkish-American musician and businessman, and founder and president of Atlantic Records and New York Cosmos soccer team
• Nasuhi Ertegün - Turkish-American record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International
• Barış Manço - Turkish rock singer, composer, and television producer
• Bülent Ersoy - transgender Turkish celebrity and popular singer of Ottoman classical music
• Özgü Namal - Turkish actress
• Zabel Sibil Asadour - Armenian poetess and writer. She was born in 1863 and raised in Üsküdar.^[19]
• Bedros Tourian - Armenian poet.
• Hovhannes Hintliyan - Armenian pedagogue and educator.
• Levon Shant - Armenian poet, writer, and playwright.
• Sirvart Kalpakyan Karamanuk - Armenian composer, pianist, and teacher.
• Schahan Berberian - Armenian philosopher, composer, and pedagogue.
• Srpuhi Kalfayan - Armenian nun and philanthropist.
• Zabel Yesayan - Armenian poetess, writer, and teacher. She was born in Üsküdar in 1878 and attended school there.^[20]

External links[link]

• Photos of Üsküdar
• Üsküdar Gönüllüleri Platform
• Istanbul Commerce University
• Satellite View of Üsküdar

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Üsküdar

Printed Sources

• Adım Adım İstanbul İnanç Atlası: Camiler, Türbeler, Ziyaret Yerleri, Mezarlıklar. Mapmedya. 2004. ISBN 975-6206-02-0. 
• Hürel, Haldun (2008). Semtleri, Mahalleri, Caddeleri ve Sokakları A'dan Z'ye İstanbul'un Alfabetik Öyküsü. İkarus. ISBN 978-975-999-290-3. 
• Kumbaracılar, İzzet (2008). İstanbul Sebilleri. Kapı. ISBN 978-9944-486-87-3.  (First published 1938)
• Tuğlacı, Pars (1991). İstanbul Ermeni Kiliseleri = Armenian Churches of Istanbul = Istʻanpuli Hayotsʻ ekeghetsʻinerě. Pars. ISBN 975-7423-00-9. 

v t e Üsküdar in Istanbul Province (in the Marmara region) of Turkey Urban districts Istanbul - (Adalar - Arnavutköy - Ataşehir - Avcılar - Bağcılar - Bahçelievler - Bakırköy - Başakşehir - Bayrampaşa - Beşiktaş - Beylikdüzü - Beyoğlu - Beykoz - Büyükçekmece - Çatalca - Çekmeköy - Eyüp - Esenler - Esenyurt - Fatih - Gaziosmanpaşa - Güngören - Kadıköy - Kağıthane - Kartal - Küçükçekmece - Maltepe - Pendik - Sancaktepe - Sarıyer - Silivri - Sultanbeyli - Sultangazi - Şile - Şişli - Tuzla - Ümraniye - Üsküdar - Zeytinburnu) Regions Provinces Aegean Afyonkarahisar - Aydın - Denizli - Izmir - Kütahya - Manisa - Muğla - Uşak Black Sea Amasya - Artvin - Bartın - Bayburt - Bolu - Çorum - Düzce - Giresun - Gümüşhane - Karabük - Kastamonu - Ordu - Rize - Samsun - Sinop - Tokat - Trabzon - Zonguldak Central Anatolia Aksaray - Ankara - Çankırı - Eskişehir - Karaman - Kayseri - Kırıkkale - Kırşehir - Konya - Nevşehir - Niğde - Sivas - Yozgat Eastern Anatolia Ağrı - Ardahan -Bingöl - Bitlis - Elâzığ - Erzincan - Erzurum - Hakkâri - Iğdır - Kars - Malatya - Muş - Siirt - Tunceli - Van Marmara Balıkesir - Bilecik - Bursa - Çanakkale - Edirne - Istanbul - Kırklareli - Kocaeli - Sakarya - Tekirdağ - Yalova Mediterranean Adana - Antalya- Burdur - Hatay - Isparta - Kahramanmaraş - Mersin - Osmaniye Southeastern Anatolia Adıyaman - Batman - Diyarbakır - Gaziantep - Kilis - Mardin - Şanlıurfa - Şırnak

Coordinates: 41°01′N 29°02′E / 41.017°N 29.033°E / 41.017; 29.033

Françoise Atlan is a French^[1] singer, born in a Sephardic Jewish family in Narbonne (France) 27 July 1964. Her father was a counselor native of Béjaïa in Kabylia (Algeria) and her mother was a pianist and a lyrical singer.

Musical learning[link]

Françoise Atlan started to learn piano with her mother at the age of six. In 1984 when finishing her musical learning at Saint-Étienne and Aix-en-Provence conservatoires, she obtained a piano graduate (gold medal) and a chamber music graduate (gilded silver medal). She learned musicology at Aix en Provence University where she succeed the Agrégation competitive examination for teachers. Then she worked at the same time voice techniques at Paris Opera school with Andréa Guiot.

Career[link]

Endowed with a natural voice developed in her early years, she sings "nawbas" which are usually reserved for male singers. She sings equally with the flamenco guitarist Juan Carmona or medieval European repertoire with the Ensemble Gilles Binchois or with the Boston Camerata . Welcomed with equal enthusiasm in Morocco (Fes, Rabat, Casablanca in 1994), in Switzerland (Montreux, Yverdon-les-Bains in 1993) and in France (Abbaye du Thoronet in 1993 for the Chants Sacrés de la Méditerranée, and in Arsenal de Metz for the Festival Transméditerranéen in 1994), and receiving warm applauses in Belgrade, Tokyo and Kyoto, she took part in the recording of the album Borboréo by the guitarist Juan Carmona. She also achieved success in the USA, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Great Britain, Morocco, Tunisia, ex-Yugoslavia, Israel, and continued her research on Mediterranean repertoires. as well in the ancient occidental or in the traditional Andalusian Arabic repertoires. Nowadays, Françoise Atlan chooses to live and work in Morocco particularly in Marrakesh .

As a member of the Choeur contemporain conducted by Roland Hayrabedian, Françoise Atlan distinguished herself in the vocal music of the composer Maurice Ohana, who entrusted her with the soloist part of his Cantigas, the recording of which obtained the French "Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros du disque" (1987). From 1987 to 1989, she was featured as first soloist in the vocal ensemble "Musicatreize", which specialised in contemporary music (Ohana, Ligeti, Nono).

Her debut album Romances Sefardies recorded in 1992 was met with great critical acclaim, whereas her second CD entitled Entre la Rose et le Jasmin received the "Diapason d'or" confereded by Diapason (magazine), a French classical music magazine in 1994. She sings either Sephardic romances from the North Africa and Andalusia Jewish communities in ladino, or the troubadour old laments in Occitan, even Andalusian Arabic melodies in Arabic.

Her work from 1990 to 1998 as a singer of the group Aksak, which played a repertoire of Turkish, Greek and Armenian songs, provided the opportunity to work in both Arab-Andalusian repertoire (with Mahmoud Guettat and Toufik Bestandij) and Judeo-Arab (with Cheikh Zekri) repertoire

Considered as one of the best performers of Sephardic romance, she is a singer who possesses a quality of voice that brings greater authenticity to the music. Her performances are the result of exhaustive musicological research, and she shows the highest respect for the established traditions of the genre. Her Jewish roots led Atlan to develop a passion for traditional music, and particularly music from the Mediterranean Basin. In the traditional singing approach rather style remains to be her main consideration, less than such mechanical effect repetition. In her mind, style is still the core of a musical work. In this context, she stands beyond the predefined traditions because her thorough knowledge of Andalusian tradition have enabled her to develop an unmistakable, highly expressive style which combines vocal technique and Sephardic sensibility - the rich heritage of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492.

The refinement of her interpretation reveals the different country shelter influences of the Jewish Spanish communities. The musical styles of Arabic, Muslim and Jewish communities were in past time deeply coloured with mutual influences intensifying their cohabitation. In orchester, those communities played side by side, so that only lyrics allowed to distinguish every group origin. These musics performed with long poignant nostalgic vocalises on a very slight background of strings and drums. All parts blow up in a tremendous festival of ornamented arabesques.

In 2001, Françoise Atlan was involved in the creation of the composer Florence Baschet work, Femmes, a commission from Radio France, with the participation of the Ensemble Fa under the direction of Dominique My. That same year, accompanied by the Armenian Ensemble Goussan, she offered a program of classical and traditional Armenian Music (5th to 19th century) at the Festival d'Ambronay.

Since 1998, she has been giving master classes in France (Centre de Musique Médiévale de Paris), in Switzerland: Geneva (Ateliers d'Ethnomusicologie) and Basel (Schola Cantorum) and in Morocco (Académie de Rabat) on a regular basis. Often as teacher, she is chosen to give lessons within the framework of dance and world music training course "La croisée des chemins", usually organized in July by "Ateliers d'Ethnomusicologie" Geneva.

Since 2003, Françoise Atlan notably performed on the best stages in the USA (Carnegie Hall, New York), Japan, Canada, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Israel, Italy, Spain, Corsica, Tunisia, Morocco, Switzerland, Great-Britain, Germany, Mexico

In October 2007, she introduced at the French Institute in Marrakesh the show "Andalussyiat, l'esprit de Grenade" (Andalusia, the spirit of Granada) where accompanying by Youssef Kassimi Jamal to the oud and Abdelmounaïm Jairi to the drums, she conveyed listeners in subtle poetic and musical travel through the three monotheist Andalusia: Jew, Christian and Muslim.

Since then, she has played in numerous countries and collaborated with various artists, include flamenco guitarist Juan Carmona and the Chemiranis Brothers.

Award[link]

In 1998, she was the winner of the "Prix Villa Médicis Hors les Murs" conferred by Ministry of Culture to French artists and rewarded with a grant schorlarship which enabled her to work for three years on the Arab-Andalusian repertoire of the Fez tradition, alongside Mohamed Briouel. Together, they recorded Nawba M'Cherqi, which includes a selection of Arab-Andalusian.

External links[link]

• (French) Françoise Atlan by the authors of Wiki Musique
• (French) Françoise Atlan - La mujer de Terha - Skyrock blog
• (French) Skyrock blog
• (French) Judeo arabe du Maroc Historique, description, dictionnaire francais/judeo arabe, proverbes et histoires en judeo arabe
• http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/whatson/downloads/files/francoiseatlan.mp3 Short clip of Atlan singing] (British Library website)

References[link]

1. ^ Skyrock Blog