Taksim Square is defined by the eleven-meter-tall Republic Monument at its center, a bronze and stone sculpture group featuring Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other founders of the Turkish Republic. Erected in nineteen twenty-eight, the…
Istiklal Street and Galata
Stroll down Istanbul's most famous grand avenue to see historic houses of worship, magnificent nineteenth-century passages, and legendary hotels before ending at the medieval Galata Tower.
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1. Taksim Square
2. Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox Church
Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox Church is distinguished by its massive central dome and two towering, four-story bell towers that rise above the surrounding neighborhood of Beyoğlu. Completed in eighteen eighty, this structure stands as the…
3. Çiçek Pasajı
Çiçek Pasajı is recognizable by its grand glass roof and ornate, European-style facade that spans the entrance from İstiklâl Avenue. Built in eighteen seventy-six, the structure sits on the site of the former Naum Theatre, which burned…
4. Church of Saint Anthony of Padua
The Church of Saint Anthony of Padua stands out on İstiklal Avenue for its striking red-brick facade and Venetian neo-Gothic design, a style rare in Istanbul. It is the largest Roman Catholic church in the city. The present structure was…
5. Pera Palace Hotel
The Pera Palace Hotel is defined by an Art Nouveau facade and the history of the Orient Express, for which it was originally built. Opening in eighteen ninety-five, it provided high-society travelers arriving from Paris with a level of…
6. Tünel
The Tünel is a short, underground funicular railway that links the Karaköy district at the base of the hill with the Beyoğlu district at the top. It is identified by its two stations, with the upper station located at Tünel Square, which…
7. Galata Tower
The Galata Tower is a tall, rounded stone structure topped by a conical roof that looms over the skyline of the Beyoğlu district. Originally constructed by the Genoese in thirteen forty-eight as the Tower of Christ, it served as a…