[2] It is so named because it was founded by migrants from Aksaray in central Turkey, brought here in the 15th century by Mehmet II to repopulate the city after its conquest.

It was historically known as Bóos, (Latin: Forum Bovis, Greek: ὁ Bοῦς, romanized: o Bous), It has a large population of migrants from the southeast of the country and many restaurants serve the cuisine of Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır and Hatay.

Busy Vatan Caddesi (AKA Adnan Menderes Bulvarı) runs northwest from Aksaray towards the City Walls, following the route of the lost Lycos river.

Squeezed in between Aksaray and Yusufpaşa is the smaller, older and much less conspicuous Murad Pasha Mosque, built in 1473 in the early Ottoman architectural style perfected in Bursa.

[7] Some reports in the Turkish media have claimed that the neighbourhood is especially prone to prostitution because it is a "no man's land" between two adjoining police jurisdictions, Fatih and Eminönü.