A Parisian quarter in Istanbul
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Niki Gamm
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 08, 2009 00:00
The pretty, narrow side streets of Nişantaşı, with 19th and early 20th century buildings, house the most expensive boutiques, perfumeries, art galleries and cafes, as well as stylish pubs and restaurants. Some of the best-known international brands are available in the district. So many women parade up and down in search of something to buy
Rolling hills, hunting woodlands, a rambling cemetery and virtually no inhabitants Ğ that was what the area north of today’s Taksim Square contained in the 17th century.
Gardens and farms began cropping up in the 18th century, but it was only in the 19th century that people actually began settling in what is now Şişli, a district made up of smaller neighborhoods, including Nişantaşı.
The name Nişantaşı is derived from the "target stones" set up in the area, two of which can still be found in the courtyard of the Teşvikiye Mosque, which today has become the preferred location for the funeral ceremonies of the rich and famous. The oldest stones are dated 1790-91 and belong to Sultan Selim III, while Sultan Mahmut II erected the other in 1811. A third stone sits beside the former Nişantaşı police station on Teşvikiye Avenue, but the main one is at the crossroads of Tesviiye, Rumeli and Valikonağı avenues. Sultan Abdülmecid set up these two stones in the mid-19th century.
Encouraged by the government, people began to move into the Nişantaşı area after the 1870 fire that wiped out much of Beyoğlu. Many members of minority groups, including Armenians and Greeks, chose to settle here and some of their descendants still live in the area. Nişantaşı developed as a neighborhood of mansions and palaces until the 1910s, when permission was given to build apartments. Still, much of the area remained countryside, with gardens and vineyards, until the 1940s.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nişantaşı was the only place in Istanbul where a woman could find a ready-made dress. Even then, she couldn’t be sure that the dress hadn’t already been worn by one of the shop girls. It also was the only place where you could find oversize ready-to-wear clothing. Today, that is no longer the case, but the area is still a fashion center. You can see so many women with their tanned skin, gold bracelets, dark glasses and oh-so-tight blouses and short skirts, parading up and down in search of yet something else to buy. Some of the best-known international brands are available in Nişantaşı.
Bustling commercial atmosphere
Though it’s rather difficult to tell exactly where Nişantaşı blends into the neighboring area of Osmanbey, the latter has more stores and more of a bustling commercial atmosphere.
These days, Nişantaşı is crowded with apartment buildings, many as modern as one could wish for, with large rooms, parquet floors and high ceilings, side-by-side with older buildings from the last century. The main difference seems to be that the older apartments have smaller rooms.
On its eastern side, Nişantaşı seems to start, or end, depending on your perspective, at the police station Ğ kitty-corner to one of the best newspaper stores in all of Istanbul. In the 1980s, Nişantaşı was known as a place where you could get just about any kind of newspaper and magazine Ğ even Playboy Ğ as well as other scarce commodities in a decade when finding foreign currency was a problem.
On the northern side, at the end of Rumeli Avenue, the trendy apartment buildings are giving way to doctors’ offices and private clinics since the Vehbi Koç Foundation took over the American Hospital and expanded it. Since the hospital is located on a fairly small plot of land, the foundation expanded it by building both up and down. It’s hard to believe that the hospital used to be a small building with doctors doing their own record keeping on 5x8 cards and sharing offices. Today, the facility has become one of the largest and best-equipped hospitals in Istanbul, thanks to the generosity of the Koç family, which made its money in industry.
The pretty, narrow side streets of Nişantaşı, with their 19th and early 20th century buildings, house the most expensive boutiques, perfumeries, art galleries and cafes, as well as stylish pubs and restaurants. Some of these buildings are architectural masterpieces; one of these, the historic Maçka Palas, houses Istanbul's Gucci and Armani stores as well as the Armani Cafe. There are a number of well-known schools here too, including some of the Marmara University buildings.
Nişantaşı’s interesting restaurants can match those of Paris, Rome or any other city in the world. The choice just depends on where you want to go and what kind of food you might fancy.
Gardens and farms began cropping up in the 18th century, but it was only in the 19th century that people actually began settling in what is now Şişli, a district made up of smaller neighborhoods, including Nişantaşı.
The name Nişantaşı is derived from the "target stones" set up in the area, two of which can still be found in the courtyard of the Teşvikiye Mosque, which today has become the preferred location for the funeral ceremonies of the rich and famous. The oldest stones are dated 1790-91 and belong to Sultan Selim III, while Sultan Mahmut II erected the other in 1811. A third stone sits beside the former Nişantaşı police station on Teşvikiye Avenue, but the main one is at the crossroads of Tesviiye, Rumeli and Valikonağı avenues. Sultan Abdülmecid set up these two stones in the mid-19th century.
Encouraged by the government, people began to move into the Nişantaşı area after the 1870 fire that wiped out much of Beyoğlu. Many members of minority groups, including Armenians and Greeks, chose to settle here and some of their descendants still live in the area. Nişantaşı developed as a neighborhood of mansions and palaces until the 1910s, when permission was given to build apartments. Still, much of the area remained countryside, with gardens and vineyards, until the 1940s.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nişantaşı was the only place in Istanbul where a woman could find a ready-made dress. Even then, she couldn’t be sure that the dress hadn’t already been worn by one of the shop girls. It also was the only place where you could find oversize ready-to-wear clothing. Today, that is no longer the case, but the area is still a fashion center. You can see so many women with their tanned skin, gold bracelets, dark glasses and oh-so-tight blouses and short skirts, parading up and down in search of yet something else to buy. Some of the best-known international brands are available in Nişantaşı.
Bustling commercial atmosphere
Though it’s rather difficult to tell exactly where Nişantaşı blends into the neighboring area of Osmanbey, the latter has more stores and more of a bustling commercial atmosphere.
These days, Nişantaşı is crowded with apartment buildings, many as modern as one could wish for, with large rooms, parquet floors and high ceilings, side-by-side with older buildings from the last century. The main difference seems to be that the older apartments have smaller rooms.
On its eastern side, Nişantaşı seems to start, or end, depending on your perspective, at the police station Ğ kitty-corner to one of the best newspaper stores in all of Istanbul. In the 1980s, Nişantaşı was known as a place where you could get just about any kind of newspaper and magazine Ğ even Playboy Ğ as well as other scarce commodities in a decade when finding foreign currency was a problem.
On the northern side, at the end of Rumeli Avenue, the trendy apartment buildings are giving way to doctors’ offices and private clinics since the Vehbi Koç Foundation took over the American Hospital and expanded it. Since the hospital is located on a fairly small plot of land, the foundation expanded it by building both up and down. It’s hard to believe that the hospital used to be a small building with doctors doing their own record keeping on 5x8 cards and sharing offices. Today, the facility has become one of the largest and best-equipped hospitals in Istanbul, thanks to the generosity of the Koç family, which made its money in industry.
The pretty, narrow side streets of Nişantaşı, with their 19th and early 20th century buildings, house the most expensive boutiques, perfumeries, art galleries and cafes, as well as stylish pubs and restaurants. Some of these buildings are architectural masterpieces; one of these, the historic Maçka Palas, houses Istanbul's Gucci and Armani stores as well as the Armani Cafe. There are a number of well-known schools here too, including some of the Marmara University buildings.
Nişantaşı’s interesting restaurants can match those of Paris, Rome or any other city in the world. The choice just depends on where you want to go and what kind of food you might fancy.