Fener, also spelled Phanar, is a quarter midway up the Golden Horn in the district of Fatih in Istanbul, Turkey. The Turkish name is derived from the Greek word "phanarion", meaning lantern, streetlight or lamppost; the neighborhood was so called because of a column topped with a lantern which stood here in the Byzantine period and was used as a street lig…Fener, also spelled Phanar, is a quarter midway up the Golden Horn in the district of Fatih in Istanbul, Turkey. The Turkish name is derived from the Greek word "phanarion", meaning lantern, streetlight or lamppost; the neighborhood was so called because of a column topped with a lantern which stood here in the Byzantine period and was used as a street light or lighthouse.