Besiktas is a district of Istanbul City, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus.
It's bordered on the north by Sarýyer and Sisli, on the west by Kagithane and Sisli, on the south by Beyoglu, and on the east by the Bosphorus. Directly across the Bosphorus is the municipality of Uskudar.
The Besiktas municipality includes a number of important sites along the European side of the Bosphorus, from Dolmabahce Palace in the south to Bebek in the north. The municipality also includes many inland neighborhoods such as Levent and Etiler. Some of its other well-known neighborhoods are Yildiz & Yildiz Palace, Kurucesme, Ortakoy, and Arnavutkoy.
According to one story, there was a Byzantine church where Besiktas now is with the name Kounopetra, Greek for "stone cradle." The church was built to honor a relic, a stone reportedly taken from the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. This stone was later removed to Hagia Sophia and disappeared during the Fourth Crusade, possibly to be sold in Europe's relics market.
According to another story, a cleric from a Saint Menas Church where Besiktas now is returned from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with a cradle-shaped stone used in the baptism of Jesus and placed it in the church.
According to yet another story, the name is a corruption of beþ taþ, Turkish for "five stones," referring to stone pillars used for mooring ships in the time of Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha.