Wikimedia Hackathon 2025/Venue
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Venue
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The Wikimedia Hackathon 2025 will take place at Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel, located in the Yeşilyurt neighborhood of Bakırköy district on the European side of Istanbul. Yeşilyurt is a coastal neighborhood and it's known for its green spaces, seaside location, and upscale residential areas, offering a peaceful and quiet atmosphere compared to the bustling city center.
The hotel was originally built in 1993 and was completely renovated in 2008. Inside the hotel there are two restaurants, a cafe and a bar, as well as shops.
The Hackathon will take place in a ballroom (for 200 person) and three breakout rooms (for 45-50 person), as well as a quiet room. Coffee breaks, breakfast, lunch and dinner (except Sunday night) will be served in the hotel restaurant.
The hotel is 800 meters from the Marmaray metro station — Yeşilyurt. The distance from the hotel to the metro station can be covered in 12 minutes. Using the metro, you can get to the historical center of the city, as well as to other areas.
Discounted hotel room rate information for self-funded attendees
[edit]The Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel has graciously provided a discounted room rate link for those self-funded participants that will be attending the Hackathon and wish to stay at the hotel venue:
- Hotel/venue: Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel reservation link
- Stay start date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Stay end date: Tuesday, May 6, 2025
- Cost: 160.00 EUR per night (plus taxes - potentially 179.00 EUR)
- Last day to book: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Address
[edit]Yeşilyurt, Sahil Yolu Cd. No:2, 34149 Bakırköy/İstanbul, Türkiye
Geo coordinates: 40° 57′ 35.81″ N, 28° 50′ 19.55″ E
City
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Istanbul is the largest city in Türkiye, country's economic, cultural and historical center. The city has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Türkiye. Istanbul is the most populous European city and the world's 16th-largest city.
One of the world's most dynamic cities, Istanbul is a metropolis. Istanbul is a transcontinental city straddling two continents by its inland sea, Marmara. The city is divided into four regions and has a natural harbor, the Golden Horn. One of the world’s busiest waterways, the Bosphorus, is in northwestern Türkiye between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Connecting the two seas, Bosphorus also separates Istanbul into two sides, the European side and the Asian side.
Language and useful Turkish phrases
[edit]Turkish is the mother tongue of 90 percent of the country's population.
| Turkish | English | Pronounce |
|---|---|---|
| Merhaba | Hello | |
| Günaydin | Good Morning | |
| iyi akşamlar | Good Evening | |
| Nasilsiniz? | How are you? | |
| Güle güle | Goodbye | |
| Evet | Yes | |
| Hayir | No | |
| Pardon | I'm sorry | |
| Teşekkürler | Thank you |
Safety and Security
[edit]Istanbul and the hotel venue are both safe for participants, and we wanted to remind everyone of common sense actions that can make keeping your laptop safe:
For all attendees:
- make sure your laptop is using up-to-date and fully patched systems
- use disk and key encryption as needed
- do not leave devices unsupervised and unlocked
- use a trusted service provider's VPN if possible
- use a hotel safe where possible to keep devices locked up when they are not with you
- avoid using public wifi hotspots and try to stick to an single approved conference wifi. Using a private VPN back to your home (if you have one) would be preferable as any shared wifi hotspot has risks associated with it
For those attendees that have +2 rights and/or root access or other administrative rights on their devices:
- keep SSH keys on a separate USB stick or Yubikey with encryption and a strong passphrase. Avoid leaving them in an unlocked (decrypted) state.
- avoid use of mobile devices for sensitive activities, use a laptop instead.
- keep devices encrypted and powered off in higher risk situations (i.e. border crossing) or when unattended.
- be diligent about locking device screens and removing USB sticks/yubikeys if laptops are temporarily left unattended. Ensure someone you trust is keeping an eye on the device or keep it with you at all times.
- consider minimizing use of sensitive credentials to be only when it is essential - especially if they are powerful credentials.
- For Foundation staff: use Foundation provided laptops when possible and ensure that they are fully patched and up-to-date. A local firewall should also be in place to prevent external network access.
May 1: International Workers' Day background and what to expect
[edit]International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1 May, or the first Monday in May.
In Turkey, Workers Day was first celebrated in 1912 in Istanbul, and is commonly held in Taksim Square. In 1977, during the events leading to the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, the celebration had an estimated 500,000 people, but it ended in a massacre. In general, the Workers Day celebration is an annual event and is not expected to become disruptive, violent, or make Hackathon attendees feel unsafe.
For 2025, as the May 1st holiday unfolds, we expect that there will be crowds gathering in Taksim Square and along Istiklal street. There are 3 metro stations that provide access to Taksim Square that we expect to be closed, to avoid pedestrians from entering the square. There will also be police in the area to also actively discourage people from gathering in the area.
We recommend avoiding Taksim Square and the area around it on May 1st, so as not to be accidentally involved in any commotion that might occur. Istanbul is a large city and avoiding Taksim Square on May 1st should be fairly easy to do. Shops and other places of business are expected to be closed near Taksim Square on May 1st, but the rest of Istanbul will be open and available to explore.
If your arrival to Istanbul is on May 1st, there should be no disruption to your travel from the Istanbul (IST) airport to the Hackathon venue as there are several transportation routes that will not pass near Taksim Square.
Typical Weather
[edit]Istanbul in May typically has mild and pleasant weather, generally warm during the day but a bit cooler in the early mornings and evenings, with an occasional light rain shower. A light jacket or sweater is appropriate along with comfortable shoes to explore in; sunglasses and/or a hat is also recommended.
- Minimum temperature: 16°C (61°F)
- Maximum temperature: 22°C (72°F)
- Average temperature: 19°C (66°F)
- Average rainfall: 35mm
- Average number of rainy days: 7
- Daylight hours: ~6am to ~8pm