Belgrad Forest

Park · SarıyerIstanbul, Turkey

Belgrad Forest is one of the largest woodlands near Istanbul, and it owes its name to Serbs who were deported here after Suleiman the Magnificent took Belgrade in 1521 and set to tending the city's waterworks. Those works still thread the trees: long stone aqueducts and a chain of reservoir dams, called bents, that once fed spring water to the fountains of the old city. The Kırkçeşme line that ran from here was switched off in the 1940s, so the forest no longer waters Istanbul; today it is one of the city's main green lungs, protected and open to all. Spread across the hills above Sarıyer, it is a dense cover of oak and beech that stays cool even at the height of summer. A well-worn loop of about six and a half kilometres circles the Neşet Suyu meadows, marked paths link one dam and its still reservoir to the next, and the Atatürk Arboretum on the southern edge burns gold through October and November.

Worth knowing

Good to know

Come on a weekday — weekends pull picnicking crowds from across the city into the meadows and onto the running loop, while on weekdays the dam paths can be almost empty.
Arrive soon after sunrise — on cool mornings a low mist hangs over the reservoirs and between the trunks, the forest at its most atmospheric, and it usually lifts within a couple of hours.
Aim for the Neşet Suyu entrance — the forest sprawls across many scattered gates, but this one puts the running loop, the picnic meadows and the nearest historic dams within an easy walk.
Wear proper shoes after rain — the dirt trails between the dams stay slick with mud for days after a downpour, and wet beech leaves hide roots and puddles underfoot.
Pack binoculars — around 170 bird species live here, the Syrian woodpecker among them, and the quiet beech stands away from the picnic areas are where you will actually see them.

Things to do

1
Walk or run the Neşet Suyu loop
Set off from the Neşet Suyu meadows onto the forest's best-known trail, a level, well-graded track that soon closes over into deep oak and beech shade. It is gentle enough for an unhurried walk and just long enough for a proper run. Expect company at almost any hour, since joggers, families with prams and cyclists all share the same soft path.
2
Trace the Ottoman dams
The forest is threaded with old stone dams, called bents in Turkish, that once held back the springs feeding the city. Marked paths link them one to the next: Sultan Mahmud, Valide and Büyükbent. You can stand on the curved stone crest of each one with a silent, tree-ringed reservoir held at your back. Stop to read the carved dates and inscriptions set into the walls, which tell you when each dam was built. Walking from one to the next takes you along the chain that once collected the old city's drinking water.
3
Stand beneath the Maglova Aqueduct
Cross to the Kemerburgaz side of the watershed and walk out to stand directly under Sinan's Maglova Aqueduct, two tiers of pale stone arches striding clean across the Alibey valley. It sits well away from the picnic meadows, so you often have the enormous thing to yourself — step in close and look straight up through the arches to feel its full height.
4
Catch the arboretum in autumn
Give a morning to the Atatürk Arboretum on the forest's southern edge, wandering the labelled paths through its collection of some two thousand tree and plant species. Time it for late autumn and the maples, oaks and imported trees make it the most concentrated stretch of red and gold you can walk through anywhere in Istanbul.
5
Light a mangal in the meadows
Claim a clearing or one of the fixed tables and do what Istanbul does on a day off: light a small mangal, set the tea going and settle in for the afternoon. The Kömürcübent and Neşet Suyu grounds are the classic spots — the smell of charcoal and brewing tea drifting through the clearings is as much a part of the forest as the beech shade.