Pera and Galata - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 403

TAKSİM SQUARE
Taksim Square is the centre of Beyoğlu and thus the hub of the
modern town. The square takes its name from the taksim , or water-
distribution centre, which is housed in the handsome octagonal
structure at the south-west corner of the area; this was built in 1732
by Sultan Mahmut I, and is the collection-point for the water that
is brought into the city from the reservoirs in the Belgrade Forest.
The statue group in the centre of the square commemorates the
founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923; this was done in 1928
by the Italian sculptor Canonica. At the north-east corner of the
square is the Atatürk Cultural Centre, one of the principal sites for
cultural events produced during the annual International Istanbul
Festival. The avenue that leaves the square from its south-east corner
is Gümüşsuyu Caddesi, which leads downhill to the Bosphorus
at Dolmabahçe, passing on its right side the stolid edifice of the
German Embassy. (We shall continue to call these great buildings
embassies, though, since the removal of the capital to Ankara they are
used largely as consulates only; for they are really too grandiose to be
described as consulates.)
CUMHURİYET CADDESİ AND THE MODERN CITY
The northern side of Taksim Square is bordered by the Public Gardens,
on whose western side runs Cumhuriyet Caddesi, the avenue that leads
to the various quarters of the modern city. The first of these is Harbiye,
where a branch of the avenue passes the Military Museum, housed in
the old Military School. Arrayed outside the museum are a splendid
collection of ancient cannon, most of them captured by the Turks
during the days when the Ottoman armies swept victoriously through
southern Europe and the Middle East. Inside the museum there is an
extraordinary collection of arms and other military objects from both
Europe and Islam ranging in date from the early Ottoman period up to
modern times, as well as other objects of considerable historic interest.
At the Military Museum there are also performances of military music
by the famous Mehtar Band, dressed in Ottoman costumes and
playing old Turkish instruments, a very stirring spectacle.