Beyoğlu

Beyoğlu is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera surrounding the ancient coastal town Galata which faced Constantinople across the Horn. Beyoğlu continued to be named Pera during the Middle Ages and, in western languages, into the early 20th century.

According to the prevailing theory, the Turkish name of Pera, Beyoğlu, is a modification by folk etymology of the Venetian title of Bailo, whose mansion was the grandest structure in this quarter. The informal Turkish-language title Bey Oğlu was originally used by the Ottoman Turks to describe Lodovico Gritti, Istanbul-born son of Andrea Gritti, who was the Venetian Bailo of Constantinople during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II and was later elected Doge of Venice in 1523.