Pera and Galata - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 404

An avenue branching of Cumhuriyet Caddesi to the right brings
one to the Spor ve Sergi Sarayi (the Sport and Exhibition Palace),
the Açık Hava Tiyatrosu (the Open-Air Theatre) and the Muhsin
Ertuğrul Şehir Tiyatrosu (the City Theatre) which, together with the
Opera House, form the centre of the city's cultural life.
ISTİKLAL CADDESİ
The avenue that leads of from the south-west corner of Taksim
Square from the taksim itself is Istiklal Caddesi. This was formerly
known as the Grand Rue de Pera, of which the Austrian historian
Josef von Hammer once said: “It is as narrow as the comprehension
of its inhabitants and as long as the tapeworm of their intrigues.” The
avenue has now been conveted into a pedestrian mall. The old trolley
line has been re-established, running the full length of the avenue
between Taksim and Tünel, with a stop halfway along at Galatasaray
Meydanı.
Just beyond the taksim building and on the same side of the street
is the old French Consulate (consulate, not embassy, which is farther
on down the avenue); it is a building with a rather quaint courtyard
originally constructed by the French in 1719 as a hospital for those
sufering from the plague.
The streets leading of on either side from Istiklal Caddesi between
Taksim and Galatasaray are lined with restaurants, cafés, bars and
night clubs, for this district is the centre of Istanbul's night life, which
has tremendously expanded in recent years, attracting celebrants from
all over the world. Many of the buildings along the avenue date from
the last-half-century of the Ottoman era, such as the Tokatlian Han,
Cercle d'Orient, Atlas Cinema and Cité Roumelie. Halfway between
Taksim and Galatasaray we see on the right the only mosque on the
avenue, Ağa Camii. The first mosque on this site was founded in
1594-5 by Hüseyin Ağa, commander of the Janissary detachment at
Galatasaray; this was rebuilt in 1834 and restored in 1936.
After a ten or 15 minute stroll from Taksim we come to
Galatasaray Meydanı. The square takes its name from the Galatasaray
Lisesi, whose ornate entrance we see on the left side of the avenue.
Although the buildings of the lycée are modern (1908), Galatasaray