Bull Statue

The Bull Statue, which is one of the landmarks of not only Kadıköy district but also the entire Istanbul and where countless local and foreign tourists definitely take photograph in front, has a story at least as interesting as its appearance. The Bull Statue, one of the most famous meeting points in Kadıköy, was designed with an inspiration of a bull, which is qualified as the "symbol of power’’

The Bull Statue, made by the famous Sculptor Isidore Bonheur in Paris dating back to the 1860s, was given to the Committee of Union and Progress in 1917 by Wilhelm II., the German Emperor as a gift. The statue, which passed in other hands many times until that period, was brought from France to Germany with the Battle of Sedan in 1870, since it symbolized power and anger.

Contrary to popular belief, the Bull Statue, presented to Enver Pasha by the Committee of Union and Progress, was first moved to the garden of the Beylerbeyi Palace. The statue, which was later placed in front of the Yıldız Palace Şale Mansion greenhouse, remained there for a long time. The Bull Statue, which was transferred to the Bilezikçi Ranch after the Yıldız Şale Mansion, was unfortunately forgotten there for about 50 years. The journey of the Bull Statue, which was taken to the garden of the Hilton Hotel and later to Taksim Gezi Park, started between the two sides of Istanbul during the 1970s.

The Bull Statue which was placed in front of the Şehremaneti building (the place where today's History, Literature and Art Library is located), rather than the current location in Kadıköy, as if it was its destiny to visit countless places of the city, even the world, was moved to its last stop, Altıyol, in 1987 after remaining for 20 years at the previous place. The Bull Statue, on which Fenerbahçe uniform is puy from timem to time as well as knitted cardigans and socks in the cold, is still the symbol of Kadıköy.