2020-05-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

WANDERINGS
FromtheBeyolu endof theGalataBridge,there’sa choiceof
howto getupthehill.Youcanbeginthewalkupto theGalata
Towerat thecurvaceousCamondoStairs,builtin the1870sby
a prominentfamilyof financiers,andwhichleadoBankalar
Caddesi,a streetthatservedas thecity’sfinancialquarterin
thelateOttomanperiod.Themechanisedalternativeis the
Tünel,a funicularrunninguphillunderthestreetsof Beyolu for
a thirdof a mile;openedin 1875,it’stheworld’ssecondoldest
survivingundergroundurbanrailline.Its upperstationstands
at thesouthendofstiklalCaddesi(‘IndependenceAvenue’),
thepedestrianisedmainstreetthatrunsupthespineof thehill
throughBeyolu, surroundedbyglimpsesof century-old
grandeur,andthepickof thecity’sdiningandnightlife.
Slopingdownto theBosphorusontherightis thebohemian
residentialdistrictof Çukurcuma.Andonstreetsto theleare
thePeraMuseumandthePeraPalaceHotel,whereAgatha
ChristiemayhavewrittenMurderontheOrientExpress.

1. FIND YOUR BEARINGS
   FROMA LANDMARKTOWER

GalataTowerhasdominatedthe

cityskylineeversinceit wasbuilt

in 1348bya smallGenoese

colony.It’soen lit upin dierent

coloursat night.Thoughtheentry

feeis highforIstanbul,queuesfor

theliupcanbelongandthe

balconyat thetopcangetvery

crowded,the360-degreeviews

of thecityaredazzling.

(galatakulesi.org)

2. STARTTHE DAY WITH
   MODERNTURKISHFLAVOURS

BanuTiryakiolu’slaid-back

restaurantCumahasa devoted

customerbase.Tablesareonthe

leafyterraceor in theatmospheric

upstairsdiningspace,andthe

healthy,seasonallydrivenmenu

is heavyonflavourandlighton

fuss.Breakfastis particularly

delicious:regularstendto share

thekahvaltı(breakfast)plate.

(cuma.cc)

3. DELVE INTO A WORLD
   OF ORIENTALISTART

There’splentyto seeat thePera

Museum,butits majordrawis the

exhibitionof paintingsonTurkish

Orientalistthemes.Theworks

providefascinatingglimpsesinto

theOttomanworldfromthe17th

to 20thcenturiesandincludethe

mostbelovedpaintingin the

Turkishcanon– OsmanHamdı

Bey’sTheTortoiseTrainer(1906).

Onthegroundfloor,thepopular

PeraCaféis decoratedin ArtDeco

style,as a nodto thebuilding’s

pastas theswishBristolHotel.

(peramuseum.org)

4. GET A BAKLAVAFIX

Much-lovedKaraköyGüllüolu is

a baklavacı(baklavashop)that

openedin 1949,as a branchof a

businessestablishedin Gaziantep

in the1820s.Thereareother

Güllüolu oshootsaroundtown,

butthisremainsthebest.Themost

popularflavoursarefıstıklı

IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Beyolu,

Istanbul

Beyolu and its landmark

Galata Tower look across the

inlet of the Golden Horn to the

monuments of the city centre

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM VIRGINIA MAXWELL.PHOTOGRAPH: OZGURDONMAZ/GETTY IMAGES

A

cross the Golden Horn from the old

imperial heart of the city, but still

on the European shore of the Bosphorus,

%H\RøOXKDVORQJEHHQ,VWDQEXOVPRVW

FRVPRSROLWDQQHLJKERXUKRRG$VPDWWHULQJ

RIKLVWRULFVLJKWVLQFOXGHVIDDGHVIURP

WKH2WWRPDQ(PSLUHVILQDO:HVWHUQLVLQJ

GHFDGHVEXW\RXOOILQGPRUH,VWDQEXOOXV

KHUHSD\LQJDWWHQWLRQWRQHZUHVWDXUDQW

RSHQLQJVRUGUHVVLQJWRJHWLQWRDFOXE

BOSPHORUS

.¿N¿E$NK 3CU,C +COCO¿

*CNCVC7QYGT

*CNCVC0GXNGXK

+QWUG0WUGWO

6QNGTC

3GTC 0WUGWO

+C[XQTG

&WOC

0WUGWOQH,PPQEGPEG

GOLDEN HORN

.CTCMª[* ̄NN ̄QINW

%G[QINW