Istanbul Fatih district, which was named after Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (Turkish: "Fatih Sultan Mehmed"), corresponds to what was, until the Ottoman conquest in 1453, the whole of the city of Constantinople (today is the capital district and called the "historic peninsula" of Istanbul) on the southern shore of the Golden Horn, across the medieval Genoese citadel of Galata on the northern shore. The Genoese fortifications in Galata were largely demolished in the 19th century, leaving only the Galata Tower, to make way for the northward expansion of the city. Galata (Karaköy) is today a quarter within the Beyoğlu (Pera) district,
Galata (Pera) in Istanbul, and is known as Karaköy. There are several theories concerning the origin of the name "Galata". The Greeks believe that the name comes either from "Galatai" (meaning "Gauls"), as the Celtic tribe of Gauls (Galatians) were thought to have camped here during the Hellenistic period before settling into Galatia in central Anatolia; or from "galatas" (meaning "milkman"), as the area was used by shepherds for grazing in the Early Medieval (Byzantine) period. Italians believe the name comes from "calata" meaning slope or descent, because Galata, which is a former Genoese colony, is located on a hill that