Fener (also: Fanar; in Greek: Φανάρι Fanari) is a neighborhood midway up the Golden Horn, in Istanbul, Turkey (formerly Constantinople). The streets in the area are full of historic wooden houses, churches, and synagogues dating from Byzantine and Ottoman times.

Its name comes from the Greek word "Fanari", meaning a street light, after a lit monument that was there during Byzantine times. After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Fener district was home to most of the Greeks who remained in the city.

The Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople moved to the area as well, and is still located there. As a result, the word Fener is often used as shorthand for the Patriarchate just as Vatican is used for the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.

Phanariotes from wealthy families were appointed voivodes of Moldavia and Wallachia by the Ottoman Empire between 1711/1716 and 1821.

See also

• Orthodox Church of Constantinople
• Patriarch of Constantinople

External links

• Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

Neighbourhoods of Istanbul | Eastern Orthodoxy

Phanar | Fener | Фанарион