Square, Plaza sights in Istanbul
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Taksim Square
The symbolic heart of modern İstanbul, this busy square is named after the stone reservoir on its western side, once part of the city’s old water-conduit system and now home to the unassuming Taksim Republic Art Gallery. The main water line from the Belgrade Forest, north of the city, was laid to this point in 1732 by Sultan Mahmut I (r 1730–54). Branch lines then led from the taksim to other parts of the city. Hardly a triumph of urban design, the square has a chaotic bus terminus on one side, a slightly pathetic garden laid out in its centre and the tracks of the İstiklal Caddesi tram circumnavigating this garden. The mayor of İstanbul, Kadir Topbaş has publicly an…
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Patisserie Markiz
In Pera’s heyday, there was no more glamorous spot to be seen than Patisserie Lebon in the Grand Rue de Pera (now İstiklal Caddesi). The place to enjoy gateaux and gossip, it was favoured by the city’s European elite, who dressed to kill when they popped in for afternoon tea. Noting this, tailors, furriers and milliners opened shops in the adjoining Passage Orientale and did a brisk trade, making it the city’s most exclusive retail precinct. Part of the patisserie’s attraction was its gorgeous art nouveau interior. Four large tiled wall panels had been designed around the theme of the four seasons by Alexandre Vallaury, the architect of the Pera Palace Hotel, and were …
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Beyazit Square & İstanbul University
Beyazıt Square is officially called Hürriyet Meydanı (Freedom Square), though everyone knows it simply as Beyazıt. Under the rule of the Byzantines it was called the Forum of Theodosius. Sections of the forum's columns decorated with stylised oak-knot designs were dug up from the square during the 1950s and can be seen on the other side of Yeniçeriler Caddesi.
Today the square is home to street vendors, students from İstanbul University and plenty of pigeons, as well as a few policemen who like to keep an eye on student activities. The square is backed by the impressive portal of the University. After the Conquest, Mehmet the Conqueror built his first palace here, a …
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