Death of Beyoğlu is the death of İstanbul.’
Demir Özlü
I do not like the idea of being plagued by nostalgia. It is literally a disease I try to fight but which keeps coming back to haunt me. But the irony is that I do not have a nostalgia for anything I have experienced but all those that had already vanished by the time I came into existence. I have a nostalgia evoked by a world that cast its shadow on me through the stories of my parents and grandparents and through the photos and songs that are living reminders of a past I have never had a chance to experience. That is an istanbul where kindness and elegance dominated the lives of people, where multi-culturalism was the norm, where people enjoyed life to the fullest with its ball rooms and jazz bands, where İstanbul was inhabited by istanbulites who have had the privilege of having been here for centuries with all that entails. It was an İstanbul up until 1960s where Greeks, Laventines, Armenians, White Russians, Sephardic Jews and Turks lived side by side, paying a visit to each other’s homes, experimenting with one another’s cuisine, ‘falling for’ each other where each community dominated the cultural life with its assets, when Greeks had taverns full of joy, where Armenians jewellery makers adorned women with all their talents, where Laventines constructed fabulous architectural masterpieces, where white Russians made music. It was when İstanbul was like a rich palette of colours encompassing the richness of its communities.
Glance through these photos to see the old Beyoğlu which was once the heart of this rich cultural life where music, dance, cuisine, entertainment, art, joi de vivre and romance blended! It was where the young and old, rich and people of modest means rushed to be a part of something greater! It was a Beyoğlu people looked up to and aspired to be a part of! It was a Beyoğlu people dressed for! A Beyoğlu that liberated the women and made gentlemans out of boys!
An old photo from a Beyoğlu restaurant from İstanbul Municipality Archives
An open air restaurant in Beyoğlu from the İstanbul Municipality Archives
White Russians in Beyoğlu, Rejans Restaurant, 1924
Pera Palace, 1920s
Turquoise Restaurant, 1930s
Beyoğlu, 1930s
My father (on the far left) and his friends on a ‘promenade’ in Beyoğlu -1950s
My father on the far right with his friends in a Beyoğlu Club in the 1950s
A photo of İlham Gencer Quartet in 1960s – İlham Gencer was a Jazz musician who has recently passed away
There is almost nothing left from this cultural scene of Beyoğlu except for some of its buildings! The Beyoğlu which once was has lost its sounds, colours but especially its elegance and joy. Today, I put on a ‘thick armour’ when I am on my way to Beyoğlu to ‘protect my soul’ from the crudeness of its people, cacophony of its sounds and chaos of its aesthetics!
Music speaks louder than words. Let me leave the last word to Jülide Özçelik.
