Chalcedon (Kadıköy)
Greek colonists from Megara settled here in 685 BC — seventeen years before they crossed the Bosporus to found Byzantium.
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The Asian shore holds one of the region's oldest Greek colonies, and it is still being uncovered. Active excavations behind Haydarpaşa railway station are exposing 5th-century BC Greek building foundations. Separately, Phoenician harbour remnants have surfaced in the Moda quarter — a port town that predates the history most Istanbul visitors come for.
What to look for
- 5th-century BC Greek building substructures currently under excavation behind Haydarpaşa railway station
- Phoenician port remnants in the Moda quarter
- Artifacts from the Altıyol excavation site on display at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum
Finds from the Chalcedon digs are at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum; the excavation area is in the Kadıköy district on the Asian side of the city.
Chalcedon (Kadıköy) is one of 39 sights worth the detour in Istanbul, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Istanbul pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Istanbul
- Hagia SophiaCompleted in 537, it held the title of world's largest church for over 500 years — then a mosque, a museum, and a mosque again.
- Constantinople (Istanbul)One peninsula that served as the throne of four empires for sixteen centuries straight.
- Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)Ahmed I placed it directly opposite Hagia Sophia in 1609 and gave it six minarets — a deliberate challenge to the city's greatest building.
- Topkapı PalaceFor nearly four centuries, the sultans who ruled the Ottoman Empire lived and governed from here — until the court finally moved to Dolmabahçe in 1856.
- ByzantiumGreeks from Megara planted a colony here in the 7th century BC — and the name they gave it eventually became the word for an entire empire.
- Rams Park (Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex)Galatasaray's 53,978-seat fortress on the European side of Istanbul — and the second most eco-friendly stadium on the planet.