Rejans escapes threat of closure on 77th year
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Niki Gamm
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 07, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Established by two Russians and a Crimean Turk, the Rejans Restaurant is preparing to celebrate its 77th anniversary.
The Rejans Restaurant, ever since it first opened its doors in 1932 has preserved its originality from that day onward and even its food has the same taste that it had on that first day.
Founded by two Russians and a Crimean Turk, the Rejans is now preparing to enter its 77th year. A witness to the history of Beyoğlu, the Rejans will celebrate its birthday on May 4, with a rousing evening complete with its special homemade vodka, quality local wines and live music.
Today it is the inescapable place of many a famous person, including Atatürk, who was a habitu, and world renowned photographer Ara Güler, who says that his father and he used to go to the Rejans when he was a child.
The menu on May 4 will be from its 77 year old traditions and will include an hors d’ouevres plate with potato salad, Oliviya salad, homemade pickles, fish roe, slotka and eggplant salad; hot hors d’ouevres of Spanish kofte, salmon and piroshki; oriental salad; beef stroganoff or apple duck; and dessert.
Threat of closure alarms those with fond memories
For days this winter Erdal Sezener, the manager of the fabled Rejans Restaurant in Beyoğlu, expected to be the subject of a court case brought by the owner of the site to vacate the premises.
At the time Sezener said that he had met every demand made by the owner and was rumored to have even accepted paying rent increases of 350 percent. He added: "For years we have continued the mission we undertook with great fastidiousness. There are places like this that if they are eliminated, the culture of the city is interrupted. The Rejans is one of these places. I will continue to make whatever sacrifice that I have to after this."
The possible closure of this 76-year-old tradition alarmed people who have fond memories (or otherwise) of this historical monument and its famous lemon vodka and chicken kievski.
Beyoğlu Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan and Istanbul Culture and Arts Festival Chairman Sakir Eczacıbaşı threw their weight behind the effort to ensure the Russian restaurant didn’t close. Hakkı Devrim, Atilla Dorsay and Vedat Milor were among the writers who took up the cause as well. According to Sezener, the owner of the property had intended to make a music school in place of the Rejans. The very idea mobilized many people into protesting. The Rejans has been part of the history of Beyoğlu for 76 years ever since it was opened by a number of Russian refugees who fled the advance of Communist forces in Russia. Its closure would have meant the loss of more than just a fixture, it has become a symbol.
On Istiklal Caddesi’s Oliviya Passage Ğ one of those lanes people enter when perhaps looking for adventure Ğ walk through the church yard such as it is and turn right, go up a short flight of stairs and then it’s there. Looking very much as it always has even when Atatürk frequented the restaurant while in Istanbul.
Eczacıbaşı pointed out that the Rejans couldn’t be put in any other location and even the Monuments Commission had decided that it should be protected. Clearly this was a place he valued and loved. He also mentioned the interesting people who had worked there such as the first woman waitress to work in Istanbul had been employed at the Rejans.
And of course it was a place where Atatürk used to come. "The Rejans Restaurant comes at the head of the organizations that make Istanbul, Istanbul and Beyoğlu, Beyoğlu," he said.
A foundation stone
Demircan has described the Rejans as one of the foundation stones of the history of Istanbul and Beyoğlu and promised to follow the matter and do whatever he possibly could.
Echoing Eczacıbaşı’s statement of the Rejans being Istanbul and Beyoğlu, he has been quoted as saying: "It’s necessary to look at it first and foremost as a historic and cultural monument that is not to be destroyed." So here’s hoping we can look forward to another 77 years of the Rejans Restaurant. The price of Rejans’ birthday celebration menu is YTL 60.00 and includes a certain amount of beverages.
For reservations, telephone
(0212) 243 38 82 Ğ 244 16 10.
Founded by two Russians and a Crimean Turk, the Rejans is now preparing to enter its 77th year. A witness to the history of Beyoğlu, the Rejans will celebrate its birthday on May 4, with a rousing evening complete with its special homemade vodka, quality local wines and live music.
Today it is the inescapable place of many a famous person, including Atatürk, who was a habitu, and world renowned photographer Ara Güler, who says that his father and he used to go to the Rejans when he was a child.
The menu on May 4 will be from its 77 year old traditions and will include an hors d’ouevres plate with potato salad, Oliviya salad, homemade pickles, fish roe, slotka and eggplant salad; hot hors d’ouevres of Spanish kofte, salmon and piroshki; oriental salad; beef stroganoff or apple duck; and dessert.
Threat of closure alarms those with fond memories
For days this winter Erdal Sezener, the manager of the fabled Rejans Restaurant in Beyoğlu, expected to be the subject of a court case brought by the owner of the site to vacate the premises.
At the time Sezener said that he had met every demand made by the owner and was rumored to have even accepted paying rent increases of 350 percent. He added: "For years we have continued the mission we undertook with great fastidiousness. There are places like this that if they are eliminated, the culture of the city is interrupted. The Rejans is one of these places. I will continue to make whatever sacrifice that I have to after this."
The possible closure of this 76-year-old tradition alarmed people who have fond memories (or otherwise) of this historical monument and its famous lemon vodka and chicken kievski.
Beyoğlu Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan and Istanbul Culture and Arts Festival Chairman Sakir Eczacıbaşı threw their weight behind the effort to ensure the Russian restaurant didn’t close. Hakkı Devrim, Atilla Dorsay and Vedat Milor were among the writers who took up the cause as well. According to Sezener, the owner of the property had intended to make a music school in place of the Rejans. The very idea mobilized many people into protesting. The Rejans has been part of the history of Beyoğlu for 76 years ever since it was opened by a number of Russian refugees who fled the advance of Communist forces in Russia. Its closure would have meant the loss of more than just a fixture, it has become a symbol.
On Istiklal Caddesi’s Oliviya Passage Ğ one of those lanes people enter when perhaps looking for adventure Ğ walk through the church yard such as it is and turn right, go up a short flight of stairs and then it’s there. Looking very much as it always has even when Atatürk frequented the restaurant while in Istanbul.
Eczacıbaşı pointed out that the Rejans couldn’t be put in any other location and even the Monuments Commission had decided that it should be protected. Clearly this was a place he valued and loved. He also mentioned the interesting people who had worked there such as the first woman waitress to work in Istanbul had been employed at the Rejans.
And of course it was a place where Atatürk used to come. "The Rejans Restaurant comes at the head of the organizations that make Istanbul, Istanbul and Beyoğlu, Beyoğlu," he said.
A foundation stone
Demircan has described the Rejans as one of the foundation stones of the history of Istanbul and Beyoğlu and promised to follow the matter and do whatever he possibly could.
Echoing Eczacıbaşı’s statement of the Rejans being Istanbul and Beyoğlu, he has been quoted as saying: "It’s necessary to look at it first and foremost as a historic and cultural monument that is not to be destroyed." So here’s hoping we can look forward to another 77 years of the Rejans Restaurant. The price of Rejans’ birthday celebration menu is YTL 60.00 and includes a certain amount of beverages.
For reservations, telephone
(0212) 243 38 82 Ğ 244 16 10.