Beşiktaş Municipality changes street name to ‘peace’ in Turkish and Kurdish

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Istanbul’s Beşiktaş Municipality has change the name of a street in the district to “Barış-Aşiti,” meaning “peace” in Turkish and Kurdish. The move comes as an expression of solidarity with the municipality in the violence-hit southeastern province of Hakkari. 

The street in Beşiktaş’s Dikilitaş neighborhood will be renamed “Barış-Aşiti Street” in line with the recent amendment by the district municipality. 

Beşiktaş Mayor Murat Hazinedar and Hakkari Co-Mayors Nazmi Coşkun and Fatma Yıldız announced the street’s new name at a ceremony on Nov. 16 in Beşiktaş, located on the European side of Istanbul. 

However, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has not approved the name change on the grounds that it will cause problems in finding addresses, despite the fact that the names of many streets have been changed through such municipal amendments in the past. 

After the Beşiktaş ceremony, Hazinedar, Coşkun and Yıldız headed to the building of the French Consulate General in the Beyoğlu district to attend a ceremony in remembrance of the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.