Between tradition and modernity, a district with a strong and assertive culture – Yeldeğirmeni – Moda – Kadıköy

Kadıköy, the center of the Asian side of the city, is today expanding and offers a quality of life unsurpassed in a growing Istanbul. Between its rich market, its rich musical and artistic culture, its quality of life and its open-mindedness, this is a place not to be missed when you are in Istanbul!

During this half-day tour, we will show you its most atypical corners, and tell you the history of this Greek colony founded in 685 B.C. that has been transformed into this vibrant district of about 500,000 inhabitants.

THE PROGRAM:

Appointment at 1 pm in Karaköy with your guide where we embark with a traditional “vapur” to cross the Bosphorus. While enjoying a tea, we admire the landscape, the unique view of the historical peninsula and after about twenty minutes we disembark in Asia!

It is by the district of Yeldeğirmeni that we begin our walk, and the first thing that intrigues the eye are the many buildings of art nouveau style, they are actually among the first of the city. It was during the construction of the famous Haydarpasa station (1906-1908), a magnificent neo-Renaissance building whose train line ran from Istanbul to Baghdad, that the first art nouveau apartments, schools and churches were built to house workers, especially Italians.

For some years now, it is a popular district of Istanbul, where people live like in a small village, the numerous small squares, cafes, stores in the form of cooperatives testify to the “slow life”, and contrasts with the agitation that you could feel in the other districts of Istanbul. It is also the capital of street art in Istanbul, since 2012 is held the festival Mural Istanbul where the municipality grants walls to international artists whose works we will discover during the visit.

We then take the nostalgic streetcar to Moda, the posh district of Kadiköy, known for its cafes, pastry shops and its ever lively seaside where the locals go cycling and jogging. It is likely to see young people picnicking in the afternoon on the park and the older ones at the tea garden admiring the view of the Bosphorus, see the islands of prince.

Moda is also the cultural center of Kadıköy, we cross the traces of artists who have marked Turkey: the house/museum of Barış Manço, one of the greatest Turkish musicians who practiced Anatolian rock and influenced the following generations or the verses of the famous poet Nazim Hikmet which are engraved on the cobblestones of the promenade of Moda going to the center of Kadıköy.

It is here that the walk continues, we discover the famous market of Kadiköy where we will make you taste a local speciality. Here that swarms; colors, odors are everywhere and one finds a pretty condensed Turkish gastronomy with spices, baklavas and loukoums, fruits, fish and cooked pork meats among others.

To finish the day, we discover the famous “Street of Thirst” (Barlar Sokağı), which makes Kadiköy a mecca of the Stamboulian night, and for those who wish to continue the adventure it is with pleasure we will share an aperitif with you.

MORE INFORMATION:

The walk starts at 1:00 pm and ends around 5:00 pm. We send you the meeting place after confirmation.

We welcome a maximum of 8 participants. It is also possible to privatize the visit if you wish.

The price is 45 € per person and includes all the products we will taste and transportation during the walk. We make discounts for children.