Flower Passage

Back in the days when the Orient Express was rolling into Old Stamboul and promenading down İstiklal Caddesi was the height of fashion, the Cité de Pera building was the most glamorous address in town. Built in 1876 and decorated in Second Empire style, it housed a shopping arcade as well as apartments. As Pera declined, so too did the building, its stylish shops giving way to cheap restaurant-taverns where in good weather beer barrels were rolled out onto the pavement, marble slabs were balanced on top, wooden stools were arranged and enthusiastic revellers caroused the night away. Renamed Çiçek Pasajı (Flower Passage), it continued in this vein until the late 1970s, when parts of the building collapsed. When it was reconstructed, the passage was ‘beautified’. That is, its makeshift barrels and stools were replaced with comfortable and solid wooden tables and benches, and its broken pavement was covered with smooth tiles. The passage also acquired a glass canopy to protect pedestrians from foul weather. These days its raffish charm is nearly gone and locals in the know bypass the touts and the mediocre food on offer here and instead make their way behind the passage toNevizade Sokak if they are seeking a great night on the town. Next to the Çiçek Pasajı you’ll find the Fish Market (Balık Pazar) in Sahna Sokak, where small stands sell midye (skewered mussels) fried in hot oil (get a skewer that’s been freshly cooked). You’ll also find stalls selling fruit, vegetables, pickles and other produce. At 24A Sahne Sokak, look for the gigantic black doors to the courtyard of the Üç Horan Ermeni Kilisesi (Armenian Church of Three Altars). Visitors can enter the church providing the doors are open. Opposite the church are the neoclassical European Passage (Avrupa Pasajı aka Aynalı Pasajı or Arcade of Mirrors), a small gallery with marble paving and shops selling tourist wares and some antique goods, and Aslıhan Passage (Aslıhan Pasajı), an arcade jam-packed with second-hand book and record stalls.