Zeytinburnu at a glance
| Population | 275,471 (end of 2025); 278,344 a year earlier; 293,839 in 2021 (TÜİK, address-based population results 2025) |
|---|---|
| Area | About 11.4 km², with about 2.5 km of Marmara coast (Zeytinburnu Municipality strategic plan) |
| Neighbourhoods | 13: Beştelsiz, Çırpıcı, Gökalp, Kazlıçeşme, Maltepe, Merkezefendi, Nuripaşa, Seyitnizam, Sümer, Telsiz, Veliefendi, Yenidoğan, Yeşiltepe (Zeytinburnu Municipality, 2025 activity report) |
| Became a district | 1957, as Istanbul's 14th district (Zeytinburnu District Governorship) |
| Boundaries | The historic land walls to the east, the Çırpıcı stream to the west, the Sea of Marmara to the south (Zeytinburnu Municipality strategic plan) |
| Rail | T1 tram: Topkapı, Cevizlibağ-AÖY, Merkezefendi, Seyitnizam-Akşemsettin, Mithatpaşa. M1A: Zeytinburnu, on the western border. T4: Topkapı (İBB rail station data) |
| Marmaray | Kazlıçeşme and Zeytinburnu stations (İBB rail station points) |
| Court for rent disputes | Sulh hukuk (civil peace) courts of the Bakırköy Courthouse, sitting in its Bahçelievler annex (Bakırköy Courthouse) |
| Earthquake scenario | About 33% of 16,000 buildings moderately damaged or worse in a magnitude 7.5 earthquake (İBB model, 2020) (İBB earthquake booklet, 2020) |
| Urban transformation | 1,302 risky-building determinations and 624 buildings demolished (municipality figures, period not stated) (Zeytinburnu Municipality, 2025 activity report) |
From tanneries to towers
Kazlıçeşme, on Zeytinburnu's coast, was the centre of Istanbul's tanneries, slaughterhouses and candle works from the 15th century. In 1947 the city planned the area as the Kazlıçeşme industrial zone, and factories drew migrants from across Anatolia: the population went from 17,585 in the 1955 census to 88,341 in 1960, much of it in gecekondu (self-built) houses. Zeytinburnu became a district in 1957. From the 1990s apartment blocks replaced most gecekondu, and after the Kazlıçeşme plants were demolished the leather industry moved to Tuzla, Çorlu and Balıkesir, though leather trading stayed.
Its population is now falling slowly: 293,839 in 2021, 278,344 in 2024 and 275,471 at the end of 2025, according to TÜİK.
Transport
The T1 tram (Kabataş–Bağcılar) crosses the district from Topkapı to Mithatpaşa, with five stops inside it; at Topkapı the T4 tram begins. Two Marmaray stations, Kazlıçeşme and Zeytinburnu, serve the coast, with trains under the Bosphorus to the Asian side. The M1A metro's Zeytinburnu station sits on the western border with Bakırköy, and the metrobüs crosses the district along the D-100, with stops including Maltepe, Topkapı, Cevizlibağ and Merter (İETT). The coastal road (Kennedy Caddesi) runs along the south, and the Eurasia road tunnel to the Asian side starts close by.
As with all the districts along the D-100, names can mislead: the T1 stop called Zeytinburnu is officially in Bakırköy, and the M1A and metrobüs stops of that name sit on the district boundary.
What the market is like
In our view, from letting and selling here, Zeytinburnu has become two markets. One is the older apartment stock of the inland neighbourhoods. The other is the branded developments on the Kazlıçeşme coast and along the Topkapı–Maltepe axis, where sea views, new building standards and on-site facilities put rents per square metre close to Bakırköy's. Corporate tenants and foreign tenants are a large share of demand in the new developments, and furnished flats there let at a clear premium. The two markets barely overlap, so pricing a flat against the wrong one is the commonest mistake we see.
Earthquake risk and urban transformation
The İBB's 2020 study analysed 16,000 buildings in Zeytinburnu: 79% were built before 2000 (16% before 1980). In its scenario for a magnitude 7.5 night-time earthquake, about a third of the district's buildings would be moderately damaged or worse, including 510 very heavily and 1,025 heavily damaged, with the highest count of very heavy damage in Telsiz. These are district-level model estimates, not findings about any single building.
The municipality calls the Sümer project, whose first 451 flats were handed over in February 2013, the first earthquake-driven urban transformation project in Turkey. Its 2025 report records 1,302 risky-building determinations and 624 buildings demolished, and in September 2026 it handed over 524 rebuilt homes in Merkezefendi. Our urban transformation guide explains what happens to an owner's flat in the process, and every flat needs compulsory earthquake insurance: buying or renewing DASK from abroad.
Landmarks residents use
The Zeytinburnu Medicinal Plants Garden opened in 2005 as Turkey's first, the municipality says; it now holds more than 700 medicinal plants. The Culture Valley park follows the land walls from Topkapı to the coast, Zeytinburnu Nation's Garden opened in October 2022, and Koç University Hospital stands at Topkapı in Maltepe neighbourhood.
Complexes in Zeytinburnu we have owner guides for
- Büyükyalı İstanbul: 1,540 homes on the Kazlıçeşme coast by Özak GYO, Yenigün İnşaat and Ziylan Gayrimenkul
- Akzirve Topkapı 29: in Seyitnizam, where we let several flats; see the current listings below
- Yedi Mavi: homes, offices, a retail arcade and an apart-hotel on Kennedy Caddesi, delivered 2019
- Sur Yapı Topkapı Evleri: 224 homes in eight blocks of 3 to 11 storeys, delivered from 2023
Owning a flat in Zeytinburnu from abroad
Property tax on a Zeytinburnu flat is billed by Zeytinburnu Municipality. It can be paid through the municipality's e-Belediye portal or through e-Devlet, which also lets someone else pay on your behalf; our step-by-step guide covers each route. Sales and transfers go through the Zeytinburnu land registry office, in person or by power of attorney. Rent disputes are heard by the civil peace courts of the Bakırköy Courthouse, which serves the whole district. Rent increases on renewal are capped by law each month: the latest legal cap.
We are a licensed agency with our office in Bahçelievler. Under property management we let the flat, collect the rent and look after it while you live abroad; nothing is charged while it stands empty. If it will stay empty, vacant property care covers visits, bills and keys. Not sure what it is worth today? Start with a free valuation in lira, euros and dollars.
