" 

 == That the religious minorities still have""sizeable"" populations in their traditional districts is grossly misleading. Only very few remain, as they either emigrated or moved to other districts. == 

 Some districts used to have sizeable populations of these ethnic groups, such as the Kumkapı district which had a sizeable Armenian population, the Balat district which had a sizeable Jewish population, the Fener district which had a sizeable Greek population, and some neighbourhoods in the Nişantaşı and Beyoğlu districts which had sizeable foreign European populations. Except for the foreign Europeans who used to inhabit the wealthy Nişantaşı and Beyoğlu districts in large numbers, very few of these religious minorities remain in these aforementioned districts as they either emigrated or moved to other districts. These traditional districts are one of the poorest districts in Istanbul, and those religious minorites who remained overwhelmingly moved to wealthier middle-class districts which have better municipal facilities and better accomodation.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by   •    

 :Istanbul's minorities still have their ""unwritten rules"". For example, the Armenians and Assyrians almost exclusively prefer Kınalıada Island in the summers (where they have their summer houses) while the Jews almost exclusively prefer Büyükada Island (which is also the most cosmopolitan island and has other minorities, i.e. the Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians.) Burgazada, until recently, was almost exclusively preferred by the Greeks (until its beautiful southern beach and its fish restaurants became universally popular among all Istanbulite ethnic and religious groups within time); who also exist in Heybeliada and Büyükada. As for the City of Istanbul itself, to give a few examples: The Armenians still prefer Kumkapı, Bomonti and Kurtuluş (Tatavla, originally a Greek neighbourhood); the Greeks still have small groups in Fener, Samatya and Balıklı; the Jews still have small groups in Balat, Galata, Beyoğlu and Nişantaşı (the latter three districts are also preferred by the Levantines.) Of course, the numbers of these minority groups have dwindled since the early 1900s, but some ""unwritten rules"" have not fully changed and still remain valid.    

 ::It is also importan to note that these religious minorities though concentrated in these traditional districts never were restricted nor lived like in a ghetto, as was the case among the Jews in Europe.   —Preceding undated comment added .  

 :::Nobody said that... Everyone knows that Astoria is the Greek neighbourhood of New York, but it's not a ghetto. The same thing is valid for Glendale, which is the Armenian suburb of Los Angeles - but not a ghetto. Kreuzberg is the Turkish neighbourhood of Berlin. Nobody ""forces"" these ethnic groups to choose such neighbourhoods - it just happens.   "