Old quarter. Locally named Kaleiçi, i.e. "walled city", this is the oldest part of the city although the city walls and gates have vanished a long time ago. Built in a grid plan after it suffered from a big fire in late 19th century, the main artery of this part is Maarif Caddesi, which lies two blocks west of Saraçlar Caddesi. Along the side streets and Maarif itself line a number of eloborate wooden houses, the walls of which are with highly delicate handwork, though some are derelict. At one end of the street is the Jewish Synagogue, the biggest one in Turkey and the whole Balkans, but is slowly decaying now. Almost all of its wooden sections (roof, windows) has collapsed in one way or the other after it suffered from a storm in 1997, but some of its stone walls (especially the front façade) are sound enough to show its former grandeur. Entry is sensibly forbidden. In one of the side alleys of Kaleiçi lie a small stone church, used to be where Catholic congregation of the city held masses, though a part of a local primary school (İstiklal İlköğretim Okulu) nowadays. Numerous small Ottoman mosques are also scattered around Kaleiçi and elsewhere in downtown.
