Like Kadıköy itself, Bahariye Street on Istanbul’s Anatolian side is a place refreshingly free from pretension. It’s a bit like a house which has been extended many times by many different families, with all the mismatching bits of history adding to its slightly confused charm.
With a history dating back as far as 5500 B.C., Kadıköy – formerly Chalcedon – is thought to be the oldest place of settlement in Istanbul.
Though much of its history was sadly demolished in favour of 1970’s functionalism, the area nevertheless preserves a coarse charisma. Beginning with the monumental bronze bull statue at its start and concluding with a little park at its end, Bahariye Street is a jumble of tributes to art, culture and capitalism. There’s everything from the remnants of a Byzantine arch to an early-20th-century opera house, dimly lit cinemas and the stunning Aya Triada Greek Orthodox Church. A nostalgic tram runs the length of the Street before curving round to the seaside district of Moda, and the main drag boasts big names like Mango, United Colors of Benetton, Adidas and Mavi Jeans with a scattering of cut-price outlets and döner restaurants.
The proliferation of such restaurants and other budget eateries is testament to the laid-back nature of Kadıköy’s mainly middle-class residents. This is a place for everyone and on any given day the area spills over with energetic football fans, students and families while the many competing English language schools aggressively tout for new students.
The side streets leading off Bahariye are just as eclectic, home to everything from heavy metal T-shirt stores to tattoo parlors, hippie stores and budget shoe shops.
Just off to the left at the start of the Street is a little cobbled lane dedicated to the area’s creative set. Sanatçılar Sokak (Artists’ Lane) is teeming with cats, cafes and small booths selling paintings, ceramic and other artwork of wildly varying quality, leading down to one of the area’s most rapidly diminishing secrets: Piraye Café. With its glorious garden, tasty food and resident turtles, it is one of the loveliest places in Kadıköy. The cafe is part of a larger complex dedicated to Turkey’s beloved writer, Nazım Hikmet.
Further along and tucked away down Dumlupınar Sokak is Greenhouse Books, one of the most comprehensively stocked English language bookstores on the Asian side of Istanbul. Co-owned by American expat Charlotte McPherson and British actuary Marion James, this literary wonderland houses more than 70,000 titles on just about every subject imaginable, from English and American literature to classics, Turkish language, poetry, history, politics, cooking, gardening, religion, marketing and much more.
If Kadıköy is to tested against its name – which means “Village of the Judge” – then Bahariye Street and its offshoots should bode well before any jury; it’s well presented, eloquent and, above all, honest.
Copyright 2010 MyIstanbulInfo.com
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