Across the Golden Horn – A Special Dedication Part 2

The tram took us over the Golden Horn to Karaköy. My favourite way to cross is by boat, but the tram is faster. We began our day with a plan – to look for churches. Our reasoning was simple — wherever there was a church, there would once have been Greek houses. These were usually the homes of the Greek middle class, families who lived close to their parishes and whose presence shaped many of these neighbourhoods. OK, so it’s not an exact science, but it was an opportunity for me to see some wonderful architecture.

Firstly, we stopped at a cafe for refreshments, which included the famous San Sebastian cheesecake that seems to be offered in most cafes. Of course, cheesecake isn’t typically Turkish, but it has become a very fashionable part of Turkish cafe culture. It’s a baked cheesecake originating in the Basque Country, and it’s bloody delicious – as was the hibiscus and lemon juice drink!

We wound our way through the narrow alleyways where most of the shops were selling hardware, chandlery, tools – you name it, you’d find it here. I stumbled across a shop with a display of door knockers outside – now anyone who knows me will be aware I have a thing for door knockers! Invented by the Greeks, don’t you know! I’m always on the lookout for a knocker I haven’t seen before, and here there are several that were new to me. I was certainly tempted, but lugging a door knocker or two around with us for the next couple of weeks just wouldn’t be practical!

On our way to the first church, we passed the Galata Tower. Now, I with my vertigo, was never going to go up, though Peter was tempted. However, when he saw the queue for tickets, he swiftly changed his mind! The views are said to be spectacular.

Walking through the side streets of Beyoğlu, past apartment blocks, embassies, and old shops, we turned a corner and suddenly a church with unusual architecture. It wasn’t an orthodox church but the Crimean Memorial Church of St Mary the Virgin. Its steep gables, and a tall Gothic profile — it could have been a parish church in a small English town. In fact, it was built in the 19th century for the British community here. It was commissioned after the Crimean War to honour the British soldiers who died fighting alongside the Ottoman Empire against Russia. Queen Victoria herself supported its construction, and the Gothic design was by the English architect George Edmund Street. Completed in 1868, it became both a war memorial and a centre for the British residents of Constantinople. Unfortunately we were only able to view the church from outside as there was some kind of event taking place in the church grounds.

Further into Beyoğlu we found ourselves on a main street full of vegan cafes and creative enterprises sitting alongside more traditional shops. The street was steep, cobbled and full of grand houses with an eclectic array of architectural styles. At the bottom of the street and a bit beyond, we arrived in the leafy Tophane Square and the impressive Tophane Fountain with its highly decorative baroque, broad eaves. The fountain is the third largest in Istanbul and was commissioned by Sultan Mahmud I in 1732. Here you can also pose with the almost obligatory ‘We ❤️ Istanbul’ sign if that’s your thing!

This quarter of Istanbul was a bit up hill and down dale and not particularly easy to traverse in the midday heat, but we ploughed on with our mission. We did stumble across several small Orthodox churches – there were more than I’d imagined, but the best of all was Agia Triada, one of the best-known Greek Orthodox churches in the city and to our delight, it was open!

Built between 1876 and 1880, during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. When it was consecrated in 1880, it became the largest Greek Orthodox church in Istanbul, and it still holds that title today.

It was constructed on the site of an old Greek Orthodox cemetery, which had been closed by the authorities and is dominated by a central dome, with two tall bell towers flanking the entrance.

The interior features icons, frescoes, and marble iconostasis, as well as stained-glass windows that fill the space with coloured light. Agia Triada served the large and prosperous Greek Orthodox community of Beyoğlu (Pera), many of whom were merchants, professionals, and middle-class families. It remains an active parish church today, holding regular services under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Its location near Taksim makes it a visible symbol of the survival of the Greek Orthodox presence in Istanbul.

The church is set in beautiful, manicured gardens shaded by mature trees. Dotted around the grounds are several interesting sculptures, which I discovered are part of a worldwide tour of works by Athenian artist and sculptor George Petrides. Hellenic Heads is currently on a 5-year tour across 10 countries, and fortuitously, we’ve arrived whilst the artworks were in Istanbul.

The sculptures, which stand about 2 metres tall, tell a story from six periods of Greek history, including Classical Greece, Byzantine Empire, Greek War of Independence, Asia Minor Catastrophe, the Nazi Occupation, Holocaust, Civil War and the Present.

George Petrides specialises in public art and uses classical sculpting techniques combined with recycled materials and the use of state-of-the-art technology.

You can discover more about the exhibition in the video below, where the artist talks about his thought process behind the collection Hellenic Heads.

Our next destination of the day is another stopping point inspired by my Aunt Janet. Her boss, the senior diplomat, used to stay at the Pera Palace Hotel, which is just a short distance from Taksim Square. This historic hotel, opened in 1895 for the travellers arriving on the legendary Orient Express. It was one of the most modern buildings of its time, boasting electricity, hot water, and even the city’s first electric elevator. Designed by French-Ottoman architect Alexandre Vallaury, the hotel blends neoclassical, Art Nouveau, and oriental styles, creating an atmosphere that feels both grand and timeless. This is the hotel that Janet would stay in should she visit in the future, and it is opulence personified!

The Pera Palace Hotel not only hosted Janet’s old boss but notables such as Agatha Christie, Ernest Hemingway, Queen Elizabeth II, Greta Garbo, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Alfred Hitchcock and Jacqueline Kennedy. One of the most regular visitors to the hotel was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, his favourite room, 101 was turned into a museum.

We’d time our visit to coincide with the afternoon opening time of Room 101 between 1500-1600. We’d arrived a little early, so we decided to take tea out on the Orient Terrace. We were directed through the Orient Bar, one of the most sumptuous lounges I’d ever seen. The decor was classic and elegant with deep, plush armchairs in maroon velvet with heavy drapes, polished wood, and ambient lighting provided by ornate chandeliers. It was just stunning, but unfortunately, no photos allowed.

You can always tell the calibre of a place when the silver-engraved teapots come with a velvet handle cover!

Just after 1500, we made our way back to the reception desk to purchase our entry tickets to the Ataturk Museum Room. We climbed a grand marble staircase with an intricate wrought iron railing zigzagging its way up through the floors. On the other side, portraits of Turkish notables hung in heavy gilt frames. Running through the centre of the floors was the original electric elevator, now only used for special occasions, though I believe it has been upgraded to meet modern health and safety standards.

When we arrived at Room 101, I was surprised at how many people were already there, but Ataturk was and still is a national hero. Atatürk stayed at the Pera Palace Hotel many times between 1917 and 1936, often using it as a place for rest and to host important guests. The room has been restored carefully with attention to Atatürk’s own tastes. It is painted in a shade often described as “sunrise pink”, apparently his favourite colour.

Furniture, carpets, lighting and general furnishings are all of the period and include elegant wooden furniture, exotic carpets, along with his personal effects such as hats, glasses, pyjamas, gifts, photos, books, magazines, and medals. On the wall were two picture frames. The first showed correspondence between himself and Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos outlining the friendship between Turkey and Greece. The second was a letter from Eleftherios Venizelos nominating Atatürk for the Nobel Peace Prize. , a reminder of the important diplomatic ties between Turkey and Greece in the early 20th century. This left us with plenty to reflect upon.

After leaving the Pera Palace Hotel, we walked back towards Taksim Square, the symbol of modern Istanbul and the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish Republic. The focal point of the square is the Republic Monument, which features a bronze statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other key figures from the Turkish War of Independence. It was unveiled in 1928 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.

The red trams that run through the square are one of the city’s most iconic sights. When the next one pulled into the stop, it was a scrabble to get on board where space was limited – and that was after fighting our way through the tourists who just wanted to hang off it whilst they had their photo taken! Anyway, it was good fun as it trundled along Istiklal Caddesi, one of Istanbul’s most famous pedestrian streets. It’s lined with historic buildings, shops, cafes, and cultural venues and IMHO, this is the best way to see it.

The tram runs along the entire length of İstiklal Caddesi from Taksim Square to Tünel Square, where we were able to catch the Tünel funicular, one of the oldest underground railways in the world. The advantage of the funicular is that within minutes, you are back down at Karaköy. If only we’d been able to find the entrance to it when we arrived. This would have for us quickly to the key sites we visited and required less ‘hiking’ up the hills. The elevation from Karaköy to the top of Beyoğlu Hill is about 75 metres, and in the midday heat, it was a bit of a challenge. Oh well, just think of the weight loss, and to be honest, had we taken the Tünel on the way up, I don’t think we’d have discovered all the little gems that we did.

Before jumping onto a boat back to Eminomu, we stopped at a street food place so Peter could try the famous fish sandwich. Apparently, you can’t visit Istanbul without trying one!

To get us back to Sultanahmet, we jumped on a boat and then the trusty T1. Again, all forms of transport that we used, we just tapped in with our Istanbulkarts. I must say that the transport networks that we’ve used have been excellent. What Istanbul sometimes lacks in levels of customer service, it certainly makes up for with very good transport infrastructure.

Later that evening, we packed, ready to leave Istanbul and TBH, we couldn’t wait. Seven days would have been too long, and six was just about manageable; yet, we only just managed to pack in everything on our list. Istanbul is an incredible city. Overwhelming, magnificent, annoying, fascinating, curious, exhausting. Would I come back again? Yes, but maybe for a smaller bite-sized stay, after all, I didn’t manage to fit in the Topkapi Palace. It hadn’t been on my original itinerary, but it will be on my next one.

Sultanhamet Square is heaving with tourists during the day, especially when there is a cruise liner in. Tour groups are ferried around en masse from one site to the other, but in the evening, everything begins to settle down. Families begin to spread themselves across the lawns next to the water fountain to listen to the Maghrib Adhan, the call to prayer that takes place just after sunset.

Agia Sofia and the Blue Mosque are close to each other, and the call to prayer from both reaches far and wide. A quite unique thing happens here that neither I nor Peter have seen before (and Peter from Egypt). The muezzin from each mosque takes a turn to recite the Adhan. We found a place to sit between the two mosques and let the waves of emphatic calls to the faithful wash over us. It was a duet like no other – Istanbul edition! It was spine-tinglingly wonderful and really is the most magical thing and so atmospheric – though you really had to be there.

To end our stay in Istanbul, we went to Mado Cafe, close to the Sultanahmet tram stop. Mado was the first domestic franchising company in Turkey 60 years ago. It seems you’ll find them on every street corner now, with 394 branches. The cafes sell a whole range of foods but are particularly famous for their desserts and the famous Dondurma ice cream, typically made from milk, salep and mastic which gives it a stretchy texture.

Mado Café in Sultanahmet stretches across several floors, ending with a rooftop terrace that looks out over the illuminated mosques below. I indulged in ice cream and fresh fruit with hibiscus juice, while Peter opted for kounafa. With a full moon glowing above, it was the perfect finale to our stay. Tomorrow, onto the next leg of our journey, seeking out more Greek connections in Asia Minor.