Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rikapi, also in Fatih. These are the real deal, not performances put on for tourists. Note, though, that
chanting - rather than whirling - is the main event. The easiest way to attend is to go with Les Arts
about the meaning of the ceremony, take you to the
tekkes
from its office near Aya Sofya and bring
you back after the ceremony.
For a more touristy experience, the Hocapaşa Culture Centre (
CLICK HERE
)
, housed in a beautifully
converted 15th-century hamam near Eminönü, presents whirling dervish performances four evenings
per week throughout the year.
Remember that the ceremony is a religious one - by whirling, the adherents believe that they are
attaining a higher union with God - so don't talk, leave your seat or take flash photographs while the
dervishes are spinning or chanting.
İstiklal & Around
PATISSERIE LEBON
OFFLINE MAP
| HISTORIC BUILDING
(İstiklal Caddesi 360-362; Karaköy, then funicular to Tünel)
In Pera's heyday, there was no
more-glamorous spot to see and be seen than Patisserie Lebon. Its gorgeous art nouveau
interior featured chandeliers, a decorative tiled floor and large tiled wall panels designed
sadly functioning as a fast-food joint, much of its interior has been retained.
The patisserie is one of the best-loved buildings in Beyoğlu, as much for its history as
for its interior design. After decades as the Lebon, the business was taken over by Avedis
Çakır in 1940 and renamed Patisserie Markiz. It continued to trade until the 1960s, when
Pera's decline and a lack of customers led to its closure. Fortunately, closure didn't mean
destruction - the building was boarded up and left just as it had been, fittings and all. In
the 1970s local artists and writers lobbied the authorities to have the patisserie and adjoin-
ing shopping arcade added to the country's register of historical buildings; this occurred in
1977, ensuring the entire building's preservation.
In late 2003 the magnificently restored patisserie re-opened to great acclaim. It had a
short-lived and much-lamented second life as an upmarket patisserie, but has recently
