Galata Tower
Istiklal Caddesi Imagine a more raffish and colourful Champs-Elysees peppered with up market and low rent stores, cafes and restaurants and you get an idea of the bustling circus that is Istiklal Caddesi which is also lined with 19 th century apartment blocks, vintage and modern architecture, European Embassy buildings and fashion houses. This busy, noisy and bustling main street where you can buy anything from furs to watches is to Istanbul what Oxford Street is to London.
If you’ re feeling a tad jaded on your pins by now you can always take an old fashioned tram down the full length of Istikali Caddesi to Taksim Square at the furthest point. It’ s great fun, although usually packed but a great way of seeing the full length of the street. But equally it’ s a pleasant and stimulating walk and one where you’ ll be spoilt for choice to have dinner or a traditional snack or Meze( selection of appetizers) from a multitude of restaurants, fast food joints and cafes.
Pera Palace Hotel If you really want to spoil yourself and experience a moment surrounded by sumptuous elegance then head for the famous Pera Palace
Hotel( 1892) just off the main street, where the likes of Agatha Christie, Greta Garbo, Jackie Onassis and Josephine Baker have sipped cocktails under its ornate chandeliers that haven’ t changed since the establishment catered for travellers on the Orient Express.
The Whirling Dervishes Walking back down towards Tunel Square you’ ll find just a short distance across from the underground station Mevlevi Lodge, a small museum in an oasis of tranquillity set in an ornate garden. It’ s here on an octagonal
56 | EuroTravel