Çırpıcı Çayırı (Çırpıcı Meadows)
That place called Çırpıcı Çayırı is a large piece of fertile land with fresh air outside the land walls, stretching from Silivrikapı-Kozlu-Merkezefendi Cemeteries till Davutpaşa plains, crossed by Çırpıcı-Çörekçi streams.
This spot that has been most looked for recreation and pastime spot od Istanbul since the Byzantine times till 1945 was located between the Mevlanakapı and Silivrikapı gates of today and in the north of Veli Efendi Hippodrome.
At the time of Byzantine Emperor Leo I. (457-474) an ayazma was built over the water spring here which was dedicated to Virgin Mary and so this place gained some sacred visiting place identity in the course of time. Then during the Ottoman time it was one of the pastime spots both Muslims and Christians liked to come over to entertain themselves.
The name of Çırpıcı Çayırı and its surroundings was then Ayazma with its stream running across it and with the bridges over that stream.
Later on those people who produced felt mats, carpets, kilims, etc. started to settle in this area to dye their goods, and people started to call this area as Çırpıcı. Because the word Çırpıcı is derived from the root word of "çırpmak = shaking, flapping, beating" and the process of producing included some shaking, flapping and beating of the goods in the large ponds specially arranged in the area.
Another property of the Çırpıcı Çayırı in the Ottoman times was that it was the meadow where the Istanbul blacks performed their plays and shows. This recreation spot also served the Ottoman armies as a headquarters and camp site before they headed for Thrace on military expeditions.
From 1945 and on industrial installations started to be erected on this site so that the meadow had lost all of its beautiful properties, its streams got polluted with factory wastes. Nevertheless, as a result of some amelioration works lately carried out jointly by the district municipality and İSKİ (Istanbul Water and Sewage Administration) a large portion of it has been improved and works still continue.
What remained today of the Çırpıcı Çayırı has been designed by the municipality and arranged as greens identical to its authentic identity. Most likely Çırpıcı Çayırı and Veli Efendi Çayırı, where the Veli Efendi Hyppodrome today is, were together the extension of the same greens.
