INTRO
Everyday
From Karakoy through Galata and Taksim Square, there is the commercial heart of Constantinople , the Ottoman Empire and the modern-day Istanbul. Under the knowledgeable eye of your guide discover the noteworthy buildings ,beautiful side streets and historical passages that get missed by tourist and Turks alike.
Places that will be seen & visited
Karakoy - One of the oldest and most historic districts of the city, Karakoy today remains an important commercial center and transport hub.
Tunnel – Use this historic subway funicular line to go up from Karakoy to Galata Area
Galata Tower - One of the city’s landmarks, this great fortification dating back to 1348 was erected by the mercantile Genoese Italians as a vantage point over the city walls and was subsequently used as a fire lookout tower until as recently as the 1960s.
Istiklal Street ( Pera ) In the Ottoman era, Beyoğlu (then known as Pera) was, along with Galata, the European Quarter of Istanbul. Home to embassies and trading centers, as well as fine 19th-century, Parisian-style apartment houses, the area was much-loved by the city's non-Islamic minorities, with names of Greek and Armenian architects still adorning the fronts of some of Istiklal Avenue's grander buildings
St. Anthony Padua - Venetian Neogothic Style largest Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul and has the largest community following its masses. Pope John XXIII preached in this church for ten years, when he was the Vatican ambassador to Turkey being elected as Pope.
Pera Museum - Mixing together history and modern-day artistic pieces, The Pera Museum is a private museum housed in what was once a stately home dating back to the 19th century and formerly been the Hotel Bristol. There are exhibitions inside the Pera Museum which are permanent, namely the Orientalist Paintings, the Anatolian Weight and Measures, and the Kutahya Tiles and Ceramics Exhibitions as well as the visiting exhibitions.
Pera Palace Hotel – Just across the Pera Museum is the historical Pera Palace Hotel stands as “the last of the grand old establishments that defined Istanbul’s era of jazz and exile,” in the words of the author.
The hotel has been a prominent symbol of Istanbul's urban culture for over a hundred years. Celebrities like Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, Mata Hari, Zsa Zsa Gabor, King Edward VIII and many more have stayed at the Pera Palace Hotel. It also houses the Museum Room of Ataturk which includes an extensive collection of rare Turkish and foreign Ataturk books, medals and other antiques.
The hotels five o’clock tea time is excellent and if you like you can be on time for this at the end of the tour.
