Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHTS
İSTİKLAL CADDESİ
Once called the Grand Rue de Pera but renamed İstiklal (Independence) in the early years of the Re-
public, Beyoğlu's premier boulevard is a perfect metaphor for 21st-century Turkey. A long pedestrian-
ised strip cluttered with shops, cafes, cinemas and cultural centres, it showcases İstanbul's Janus-like
personality, embracing modernity one minute and happily bowing to tradition the next.
At its northern end is frantically busy Taksim Meydanı, the symbolic heart of the modern
city. Here, a constant stream of locals arrive by car, bus, funicular and metro to shop, eat
and be entertained. At its southern end is the relatively tranquil district of Galata, home to
crooked cobble-stone lanes and traces of a fortified settlement built by Genoese merchants
in the 13th century.
In the 19th century, traders and diplomats from Europe brought new ideas to Ottoman
daily life and the streets of Pera (as Beyoğlu was originally called). The Europeans who
lived here imported new fashions, machines, arts and manners to the city. This part of town
had telephones, the world's second-oldest underground train (the Tünel), tramways (one
still functioning), electric light and a modern municipal government. There were even
European-style patisseries and shopping arcades, a number of which remain. In contrast,
the Historic Peninsula (Old Stamboul) on the opposite side of the Golden Horn kept its ori-
ental bazaars, great mosques, draughty palaces, narrow streets and traditional values.
Today, promenading along the length of İstiklal is the most popular activity in town, and
huge crowds of İstanbullus head here in the early evening and at weekends to browse in
boutiques and bookshops, see exhibitions at galleries including SALT Beyoğlu and
ARTER, listen to the street buskers, drink coffee in chain cafes and party in
meyhanes
(tav-
erns). We highly recommend that you join them.
