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How about a little ‘Garipçe’ for this weekend?
According to some, the village of Garipçe (“garip” means “strange” or “odd” in Turkish) gets its name from an odd man who used to reside there. But even if that “strange” man had not lived there, there is a certain oddity to this tiny, silent village, stuck between mountain ranges, by the water and somehow so alone.
Walking along the streets of this last Bosporus village on the European side, you'll note the signs of fishing as a way of life everywhere. Each house seems to have a net and a fishing boat in front of it; in fact, fishing nets are used everywhere here, even as football goals.
Garipçe has been inhabited through the ages, it seems. The fabled king Phineas, supposedly a cursed ruler, was said to make his home here. Later, under the Ottomans, the village was referred to as “Karib.” Later, denizens of Trabzon moving from the Black Sea to İstanbul re-settled the village.
One elected village official, the “muhtar” of Garipçe, is Feredun Berber, who looks warmly on the idea of tourism in his small village. This village was declared a protected natural site in 1982, which means it is very difficult to obtain permission to build or even just refurbish structures here. Berber expresses his desire to see building procedures made easier in Garipçe, noting he believes this would make the village into a better, more beautiful place to live for many. In a village where even the muhtar is a fisherman, though, things are fast changing: The youth of Garipçe do not fish for a living the way the older generations do, but instead head to İstanbul for work opportunities.
At the entrance to Garipçe, you might note a stone structure, quite elegant, that looks out on the scene before it. People call this two-story structure the “kule” or “tower,” and it is some kind of lookout point, with the vista of the Bosporus spread before it. Visitors to the village generally leave their cars here for the day, walking through the rest of the village.
As it turns out, this stone tower is a 550-year-old structure left over from the Genoese, who spent time in and around İstanbul. There are even traces of cannon left by military crews here. When you are done exploring this marvelous old structure, walk to the center of the village and enjoy some hot tea and conversation with the welcoming residents of Garipçe. Look around you, and you will also find three restaurants, a coffeehouse and a bakkal in the village for your convenience. And remember, all this is only six kilometers from Sarıyer!
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