İstanbul, like any other city in the world today is dominated by the ‘nouveau riche’ with their flamboyant and flashy style but there is one neighbourhood that is still a home to ‘old money’ and that is Nişantaşı. The name of the neighbourhood drives its name from Ottoman Sultans who used to come here to practise their archery skills shooting at stones. The name Nşantaşı literally means the target stone. Target (aiming) stones were erected to mark the records of Ottoman archers, including sultans during the Ottoman Era.
Maçka Palas which is currently the Hyatt Regency Hotel
The neighbourhood has always been the home to the elite families during the Ottoman Era as well as the leading bourgeoise families during the Modern Republic. Nişantaşı almost always hosted the most beautiful mansions, the best restaurants, the most chic fashion designers, the most expensive jewellery stores and now the best cafes as well as the most posh stores selling world famous luxury brands.
Today, there is less and less number of İstanbul families living in this neighbourhood but it still has an old İstanbul elegance which is unmatched in contemporary İstanbul.
There are a couple of spots I suggest you drop by when you are in Nişantaşı.
Definitely drop by Maçka Palas which is currently a home to Park Hyatt Hotel but throughout history, it has been a home to prominent figures in Turkish history such as artists, writers, poets and politicians.
Make sure to dine at Cipriani İtalian Restaurant inside Maçka Palas. The restaurant is one of a kind.
Cipriani Nişantaşı
Definitely, drop by Beymen Brasserie for drinks or snacks in a lovely corner overlooking posh İstanbulites passing by!
Beymen Brasserie Nişantaşı
Visit the Reasürans Çarşısı for visiting the exhibition hall of İşbankası, for visiting its cafes and designer stores.
Reasürans Çarşısı
Make sure to visit the Armaggan Store which will offer you a cornucopia of jewellery, textiles, ceramics, silk and art objects next to Beymen Brasserie.
Armaggan Store in Nişantaşı
One other favourite store I have is All Happy Days! The store offers you a wide range of home textiles and furniture with a Provence style. It is a delightful experience to walk among artefacts and textiles that are incredibly romantic.
And in the evening, make sure to drop by Zihni Bar for drinks, a romantic dinner and live music! It is inside an old mansion which was a home to a leading Turkish architect: Vedat Tek. When you are inside Zihni Bar, try to pay attention to details on the walls and ceilings to see the home of an old İstanbul architect.
Zihni Bar was once the home of Vedat Tek
Zihni Bar’s interior, Nişantaşı
Tribute to Vedat Tek
Vedat Tek with his mother (on the far left) and his older brother and two sisters. His mother Leyla Saz Hanım was a poet and a musician who had grown up in the Ottoman Palace. She is also one of the prominent figures in the women’s liberation movement in the country in the beginning of the 20th century
Vedat Tek’s House in 1921 surrounded by beautiful trees
When you visit Nişantaşı, you will get a chance to feel the spirit of old İstanbul with its elegance and refinement! That is an İstanbul that lives more in our dreams and aspirations and feels like a ‘paradis perdu’.
