The pedestrianized tstiklal Caddesi is Beyoğlu's main street. Once known as the Grande Rue de Pera, it is lined by late 19th-century apartment blocks and European embassy buildings whose grandiose gates and facades belie their use as mere consulates since Ankara became the Turkish capital in 1923 . Hidden from view stand the churches which used to serve the foreign communities of Pera (as this area was formerly called), some still buzzing with worshippers, others just quiet echoes of a bygone era. Today, the once seedy hackstreets of Beyoğlu, off İstiklâl Caddesi, are taking on a new lease of life, with trendy jazz bars opening and shops selling handcrafted jewellery, furniture and the like. Crowds are also drawn by the area's cinemas and numerous stylish restaurants.

Pera Palas Hotel - Pera Palas Oteli

There are hotels that have attained a legendary status; one such is the Pera Palas. Relying on the hazy mystique of yesteryear, it has changed little since it opened in 1892, principally to cater for travellers on the Orient Express . It still evokes images of uniformed porters and exotic onward destinations such as Baghdad. The Grand Orient bar serves cocktails beneath its original chandeliers, while the patisserie attracts customers with its irresistible cakes and genteel ambience.
Former guests who have contributed to the hotel's reputation include Mata Hari, Greta Garbo, Jackie Onassis, Saralı Bernhardt, Josephine Baker and Atatürk . A room used by the thriller writer Agatha Christie can be visited on request.

Pera Museum - Pera Müzesi

The Pera Museum was opened in June 2005 by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation, with the aim of providing a cultural centre. The historic building, formerly the Hotel Bristol, has been transformed into a fully equipped modern museum. Notable collections include Ottoman weights and measures, over 400 examples of 18th-century Kutabya tiles and ceramics and the Suna and inan Kiraç Foundation's exhibition of Orientalist art. This collection brings together works by European artists inspired by the Ottoman world from the 17th century to the early 19th century. It also covers the last two centuries of the Ottoman Empire and provides an insight into upper class lives, customs and dress.

Mevlevi Lodge - Mevlevi Tekkesi

Although Sufism was banned by Atatiirk in 1924, this monastery has survived as the Divan Edebiyati Miizesi, a museum of divan literature (classical Ottoman poetry). The monastery belonged to the most famous sect of Sufis, who were known as the Whirling Dervishes. The original dervishes were disciples of the mystical poet and reat Sufi master "Mevlana" (Our Leader) Jelaleddin Rumi, who died in Konya, in central Anatolia in 1273-
Tucked away off a street named after one of the great poets of the sect, Galip Dede, the museum centres on an 18th-century lodge, within which is a beautiful octagonal wooden dance floor. Here, for the benefit of visitors, the sema (ritual dance) is performed by a group of latter-day Sufi devotees on the last Sunday of every month. At 3pm a dozen or so dancers unfurl their great circular skirts to whirl round the room in an extraordinary state of ecstatic meditation, accompanied by haunting music.
Around the dance floor are glass cases containing a small exhibition of artifacts belonging to the sect, including hats, clothing, manuscripts, photographs and musical instruments. Outside, in the calm, terraced garden, stand the ornate tombstones of ordinary sect members and prominent sheikhs (leaders).

Galata Tower  - Galata Kulesi

The most recognizable feature on the Golden Horn, the Galata Tower is 60-m (196-ft) high and topped by a conical tower. Its origins date from the 6th century when it was used to monitor shipping. After the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, the Ottomans turned it into a prison and naval depot. In the 18th century, aviation pioneer. Hezarifen Ahmet Celebi, attached wings to his arms and "flew" from the tower to Üsküdar. The building was subsequently used as a fire watchtower.
The tower has been renovated and on the ninth floor there is now a restaurant and nightclub. The unmissable view from the top encompasses the Istanbul skyline and beyond as far as Princes' Islands .

Church of SS Peter and Paul - Sen Piyer Kilisesi

When their original church was requisitioned as a mosque (to become the nearby Arab Mosque) in the early 16th century, the Dominican brothers of Galata moved to this site, just below the Galata Tower. The present building, dating from 1841, was built by the Fossati brothers, architects of Italian-Swiss origin who also worked on the restoration of Haghia Sophia . The church's rear wall is built into a section of Galata's old Genoese ramparts.
According to Ottoman regulations, the main facade of the building could not be directly on a road, so the church is reached through a courtyard, the entrance to which is via a tiny door on the street. Ring the bell to gain admittance.
The church is built in the style of a basilica, with four side altars. The cupola over the choir is sky blue, studded with gold stars. Mass is said here in Italian every morning.

Arab Mosque  - Arap Camii

The Arabs after whom this mosque was named were Moorish refugees from Spain. Many settled in Galata after their expulsion from Andalusia following the fall of Granada in 1492. The church of SS Paul and Dominic, built in the first half of the 14th century by Dominican monks, was given to the settlers for use as a mosque. It is an unusual building for Istanbul: a vast, strikingly rectangular Gothic church with a tall square belfry which now acts as a minaret. The building has been restored several times, but of all the converted churches in the city it makes the least convincing mosque.

Azap Kapi Mosque  - Azap Kapi Camii

Delightful though they are, this little mosque complex and fountain are somewhat overshadowed by the stream of traffic thundering over the adjacent Atatiirk Bridge. The trees surrounding the mosque, however, help to screen it from the noise. It was built in 1577-8 by Sinan  for Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasa and is considered to be one of Sinan's more attractive mosques. Unusually, the entrance is up a flight of internal steps.

Ottoman Bank Museum - Osmanlı Bankasi Miizesi

The Ottoman Bank Museum has the most interesting collection of state archives in Turkey. Exhibits include Ottoman banknotes, promissory notes from officials at the imperial palace and photos of the Empire's ornately crafted
branches.  Outstanding are the 6,000 photographs of the bank's employees - a unique social registry.

Yeraltı Mosque - Yeraltı Camii

This mosque, literally "the underground mosque", contains the shrines of two Muslim saints, Abu Sufyan and Amiri Wahibi, who died during the first Arab siege of the city in the 7th century . It was the discovery of their bodies in the cellar of an ancient Byzantine fortification in 1640 that led to the creation of first a shrine on the site and later, in 1757, a mosque.
The tombs of the saints are behind grilles at the end of a low, dark prayer hall, the roof of which is supported by a forest of pillars.

Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque - Kılıç Ali Paşa Camii

This mosque was built in 1580 by Sinan, who was by then in his 90s. The church of Haghia Sophia (seepp72~5) provided the architect with his inspiration. İznik tiles adorn the mihrab and there is a delightful deep porch before the main door. Above the entrance portal is an inscription giving the date when the mosque was established.
Kılıç Ali Paşa, who commissioned the mosque, had a colorful life. Born in Italy, he was captured by Muslim pirates and later converted to Islam in the service of Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-66). He served as a naval commander under three sultans and after retiring asked Murat III where to build his mosque. The sultan is said to have replied "in the admiral's domain, the sea". Taking him at his word, Kılıç Ali Paşa reclaimed part of the Bosphorus for his complex.

Tophane Fountain - Tophane Çeşmesi

Beside Kılıç Ali  Paşa Mosque stands a beautiful but abandoned Baroque fountain, built in 1732 by Mahmut I. With its elegant roof and dome, it resembles the fountain of Ahmet III . Each of the four walls is entirely covered in low-relief floral carving, which would once have been gaily painted.
The name, meaning "cannon foundry fountain", comes from the brick and stone foundry building on the hill nearby. Established in 1453 by Mehmet the Conqueror and rebuilt several times, the foundry no longer produces weapons but is still owned by the military.

Nusretiye Mosque - Nusretiye Camii

The baroque "Mosque of Victory" was built in the 1820s by Kirkor Balyan , who went on to found a dynasty of architects. This ornate building seems more like a large palace pavilion than a mosque, with its decorative out-buildings and marble terrace.
Commissioned by Mahmut II to commemorate his abolition of the Janissary corps in 1826 , it faces the Selimiye Barracks , across the Bosphorus, which housed the New Army that replaced the Janissaries. The Empire-style swags and embellishments celebrate the sultan's victory. The marble panel of calligraphy around the interior of the mosque is particularly fine, as is the pair of sebils (kiosks for serving drinks) outside.

Istanbul Museum of Modern Art - İstanbul Modern Sanat Muzesi

The istanbul Modern, a new building perched on the Golden Horn, opened in 2005 as the most upbeat and thoroughly contemporary museum in Turkey. It houses both permanent collections and temporary exhibitions, providing a showcase for many of the eccentric and talented personalities who have shaped modern art in Turkey from the early 20th century to the present day. Many of the works are from the private collection of the Ecaciba§i family, who founded the museum. Exhibits include abstract art, landscapes and watercolours as well as a sculpture garden and a stunning display of black and white photography.

Cukurcuma

This charming old quarter of Beyoglu, radiating from a neighbourhood mosque on Cukurcuma Caddesi, has become an important centre for Istanbul's furnishings and antiques trades. The old warehouses and houses in this district have been converted into shops and showrooms, where modern upholstery materials are piled up in carved marble basins and antique cabinets. It is worth browsing here to discover hidden treasures, ranging from valuable paintings and prints and 19th-century Ottoman embroidery to 1950s biscuit boxes.

Taksim

Centring on the vast, open Taksim Square (Taksim Meydanı), the Taksim area is the hub of activity in modern Beyoğlu. Taksim means "water distribution centre", and from the early 18th century it was from this site that water from the Belgrade Forest  was distributed throughout the city. The original stone reservoir, built in 1732 by Mahmut I, still stands at the top of İstiklâl Caddesi. In the southwest of the square is the 1928 Monument of Independence, by Italian artist Canonica. It shows Atatiirk  and the other founding fathers of the modern Turkish Republic.
Further up, on Cumhuriyet Caddesi, is the modern building of the Taksim Art Gallery. As well as temporary exhibitions, the gallery has a permanent display of Istanbul landscapes by some of Turkey's most important 20th-century painters. (s1)