Rivayete göre Fatih Sultan Mehmet İstanbul'un fethi sırasında ordularıyla buradan geçerken "Cuma namazını şu çukurda kılalım" demesiyle bu bölgeye Çukurcuma adı takılmıştır.

 Semtin merkezinde Ali Muhittin Fenari camisi (Mimarsinan tarafından yaptırılmııştır) ve Ömer Ağa çeşmesi bulunmaktadır.

Bölgedeki antikacılar Çukurcuma caddesi, Çukurcuma Cami sokak, Altıpatlar sokak, Faik Paşa caddesi, Turnacıbaşı sokak, Bostancıbaşı sokağına dağılmışlardır.

Çukurcuma semti antikacıların yoğun çabası ile dünyaca tanına bir semt haline gelmiştir. Bugün Çukurcuma'ya gelenler eski bir Osmanlı semtine geldiklerini hemen anlayacaklardır. 
 

Discover new Istanbul, the one Europeans fantasize about: Spend an afternoon in Çukurcuma, the city’s hip bohemian district, where tapestries and neon rock-n-roll signs mix with sultan-signed candelabras and mirrors lined with fading starlets

  Tucked into the beating heart of Istanbul's style-savvy Beyoğlu quarter, Çukurcuma (pronounced chu-KUR-ju-ma) expresses itself by casting off East-meets-West clichés and peeling back layers of history to reveal designers with a fresh, minimalist sensibility.

  With the charm of an old neighborhood flea market in an upscale café and gallery district, the area was once home to a large Greek community. Many shop owners are descendents of non-Turkish residents whose families have inhabited the area for centuries.

  Hosting over 150 antique shops, this is not an average stroll through antiquity. A candelabra engraved with the official signature of an Ottoman sultan is tough to find anywhere else. Some shops are bursting with Ottoman-era odds and ends and Turkish cultural memorabilia. Beside them are avant-garde art workshops and high fashion boutiques.

   The history of Çukurcuma dates back 550 years and came of age when Ottomans lived here during the rule of Fatih Sultan Mehmet. Part of Pera and Beyoğlu, those who enter Çukurcuma will find the 16th century Çukurcuma Mosque, a masterpiece by Turkey's own Michelangelo, architect Mimar Sinan. Across the street is the 18th century Ömer Ağa Fountain set beside Iskeceli coffee house. This is a good place to get the charge needed to enter this labyrinth of a residential shopping quarter that is part relic, part ahead of its time.

  Beneath the terraces of French colonial townhouses the color of smog, unassuming storefronts conceal sleek contemporary ateliers and shops and galleries that could easily find themselves in New York's Soho. But upon closer inspection, these daring young designers are uniquely Turkish and are creating a space, a chic, that is all their own. The antique legacy of the neighborhood shares the same snaky streets with the up-and-comers, revealing antique treasures and odd collectibles.

  Another entry point can be reached from the green mosque (Yeşil Cami) in the center of Cihangir. Walk toward the fruit stall before the road bends downhill and walk against the one-way street called Ağa Hamam Cad. When it bends to the left, Çukurcuma begins on the street ahead and cascades along streets to the left.