Nişantaşı and Şişli: boutiques and Atatürk's apartment

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

1. 01

   1

   Osmanbey metro (M2)

   The M2 stop at the southern edge of Şişli, the entry point for the Nişantaşı boutique strip. Abdi İpekçi Caddesi heads east; Teşvikiye Caddesi heads north. Take either; they cross.

   01

   Osmanbey metro (M2)

   The M2 stop at the southern edge of Şişli, the entry point for the Nişantaşı boutique strip. Abdi İpekçi Caddesi heads east; Teşvikiye Caddesi heads north. Take either; they cross.

   ◉Street View
2. 02

   2

   Abdi İpekçi Caddesi

   Three blocks of Turkish fashion houses (Vakko, Beymen) and international labels in the old apartment shells. The street is named for the journalist Abdi İpekçi, assassinated in 1979; the boutique character dates from the 1970s renovation push.

   02

   Abdi İpekçi Caddesi

   Three blocks of Turkish fashion houses (Vakko, Beymen) and international labels in the old apartment shells. The street is named for the journalist Abdi İpekçi, assassinated in 1979; the boutique character dates from the 1970s renovation push.

   ◉Street View
3. 03

   3

   Teşvikiye Camii

   Abdülmecid's 1854 mosque, in the Empire-style neo-classical that defined Tanzimat-era Ottoman building. Modest scale by Istanbul standards; the inner courtyard is quiet enough to sit a minute between the boutiques.

   03

   Teşvikiye Camii

   Abdülmecid's 1854 mosque, in the Empire-style neo-classical that defined Tanzimat-era Ottoman building. Modest scale by Istanbul standards; the inner courtyard is quiet enough to sit a minute between the boutiques.

   ◉Street View
4. 04

   4

   Old Nişantaşı apartment buildings

   The streets north of Teşvikiye — Vali Konağı, Mim Kemal Öke, the side lanes — carry the late-19th-c residential architecture that defined the new Nişantaşı: high ceilings, wrought-iron balconies, the late-Ottoman professional class made permanent in stone. Most are private flats; the walk is the looking.

   04

   Old Nişantaşı apartment buildings

   The streets north of Teşvikiye — Vali Konağı, Mim Kemal Öke, the side lanes — carry the late-19th-c residential architecture that defined the new Nişantaşı: high ceilings, wrought-iron balconies, the late-Ottoman professional class made permanent in stone. Most are private flats; the walk is the looking.

   ◉Street View
5. 05

   5

   Atatürk Müzesi

   Halaskargazi Caddesi 250. The apartment Mustafa Kemal lived in 1918–19 — when he was already a national figure but before the Samsun landing in May 1919 that began the War of Independence. The rooms are modest and arranged broadly as he left them. Free entry; closed Mondays.

   05

   Atatürk Müzesi

   Halaskargazi Caddesi 250. The apartment Mustafa Kemal lived in 1918–19 — when he was already a national figure but before the Samsun landing in May 1919 that began the War of Independence. The rooms are modest and arranged broadly as he left them. Free entry; closed Mondays.

   ◉Street View
6. 06

   6

   Şişli-Mecidiyeköy metro (M2)

   The next M2 stop north — Mecidiyeköy is the city's modern commercial junction. Or back south to Osmanbey if you want symmetry.

   06

   Şişli-Mecidiyeköy metro (M2)

   The next M2 stop north — Mecidiyeköy is the city's modern commercial junction. Or back south to Osmanbey if you want symmetry.

   ◉Street View