Eyüp is also the name of a prominent neighborhood and former village in the district, located at the confluence of the Kâğıthane and Alibey streams at the head of the Golden Horn.

The Eyüp neighborhood is a historically important area, especially for Turkish Muslims, due to the presence of the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the prominent Medinan companion (Ansar) and standard-bearer of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Its neighbours are Sarıyer in the east, Kâğıthane and Beyoğlu in the southeast, Gaziosmanpaşa, Bayrampaşa, Fatih and Sultangazi in the south, Başakşehir in the southwest and Arnavutköy in the west.

[5] Due to its proximity to Constantinople, the site played a role in the civil wars of the period: it was the headquarters of the rebel Leo Tornikios (although other sources place his headquarters at Thermopolis) during his failed siege of the imperial capital in 1047, it was a base of John Bryennios, brother of the rebel general Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder, in 1077, and four years later, it was one of the first localities taken over by the Komnenoi in their successful coup against Nikephoros III Botaneiates (r. 1078–81).

In April 1204, shortly before the fall of the city to the Crusaders, the Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo met with the newly crowned emperor Alexios V Mourtzouphlos for negotiations there.

[5] Under Latin rule, the monastery seems not to have suffered too much; certainly it was fit to lodge Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–82) on the night of 14 August 1261, before his triumphal entry into recently recovered Constantinople the next day.

[5] In the next decades, the monastery was used as a place of exile for two disgraced patriarchs, Joseph I in 1280–82 and John XI Bekkos in 1285, while awaiting trial by the synod, and Athanasius I for the period before his abdication in 1293.

The streets behind had fish and dairy markets, shops, cafes and bars for residents of the area, while the courtyard of the mosque itself had people selling scriptures and prayer beads to visitors.

From the mid-20th century onward, the area took on a more "working class" feel as wealthier residents of Istanbul preferred to buy housing on the Asian side of the city or along the Bosphorus, since the Golden Horn was becoming increasingly polluted and unpleasant due to industrial development.

In recent years, a thriving market has grown around the mosque selling prayer mats, beads, dates from Saudi Arabia, scented oils, Islamic books, recordings of Koran recitation, and other items.

On Fridays, a marching band plays Ottoman military music, mehter, giving the area around the mosque a carnival atmosphere with an Islamic twist.

A gondola lift brings visitors from the shore of the Golden Horn up to the outdoor Pierre Loti Café (Turkish: Piyerloti Kahvesi), a popular spot offering a panoramic view of the Golden Horn, named after the 19th-century French writer Pierre Loti (pseudonym of Julien Viaud), who wrote two novels based on his stay in Istanbul.

More mosques, schools, tekkes, and fountains were built, and since many Ottoman officials wished to be buried near Abu Ayyub's resting place, the cemetery became one of Istanbul's most desirable.

A number of Ottoman religious and funerary complex are also located in the vicinity of the Eyüp Sultan Mosque or along the shore of the Golden Horn, dating from different periods.