Walking tour in "Avrupa Yakası" with Bejan Matur

You know Bejan. We met her last week as the Istanbulite. And we asked about her favorite spots in Sultanahmet, Pera, Gümüşsuyu, and Çukurcuma to stop by during the biennial. 

"My Istanbul is limited to the European side. I just love looking at the Anatolian side. The lights, the movement, and the groves that change color in every season are of unique value because they make those of us on this side not feel alone. They bring a sweet balance and harmony. In almost 30 years of my life in Istanbul, I can say that I have maybe crossed over to the Anatolian side twice a year at most!" she said. So we should find our own route in Kadıköy. But for now, we follow her walk around the European side -in Turkish we say Avrupa Yakası- and listen to her stories.

Sultanahmet

• Walking the street where the archeology museum is, sitting in the garden of the museum, finding myself in that garden through many poems written there,
• Stopping by the Hagia Irene,
• Walking barefoot on the rocks off Saraybunu, 

Pera's flowered windows

Pera

• Leaving home, walking through the back streets, through the passages, and coming to Galata,
• Visiting the Meşher, Istanbul Modern, Pera Museum, Salt galleries, new exhibitions, 
• Taking a tea or coffee break, sometimes at Soho House, sometimes at Pera Palas,
• Taking a deep breath in the courtyard of the Galata Mevlevihanesi, 
• Sitting in the garden of Sessizler Evi
• Going down the Komando Stairs and turning down Bankalar Street towards Karaköy,
• Walking along the Golden Horn, seeing dolphins if it's my lucky day,
• Setting the sun by looking at Mimar Sinan's magnificent Süleymaniye from the shore,
• I used to go on city trips with my dear Deniz Bilgin in the old days. Since then, I've always loved the idea of renting a boat and crossing the Golden Horn,
• In the late nineties, it was a pleasure to drink coffee at Dar-ül Ziyafe, adjacent to the Süleymaniye mosque, and to see the magnificent tiles and deep red pencil works of the Rüstem Paşa mosque from the streets that curved downward from the streets where the 'bachelor houses' were located,
• In the fabric shop of Murat, a scribe from Sivas in the Grand Bazaar, browsing the shelves with the most beautiful fabrics of Anatolia, admiring silks and weavings.

Gümüşsuyu

• There used to be Topaz Restaurant in my old neighborhood for which my love never ended, going there with my Meral (Okay) before it closed,
• Walking up the stairs of Hacı İzzet Paşa slope to GalataPort, 
• Looking at the Sarayburnu, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı skyline and having a tea break at Vakko cafe or Grandma's,
• I had the rare pleasure of spending a pleasant evening with İnci Eviner at a table set under the magnolia tree in the garden of the Karaköy Lokantası, which has now moved to its new location thanks to the wonderful insistence of dear Oral.

Çukurcuma

• Walking down Faik Paşa Street,
• Walking around antique shops, 
• Stopping by small galleries if there are some,
• Passing by the abandoned Spanish church tucked in the corner of a narrow street leading up to Istiklal from the Tomtom neighborhood where the Italian embassy is located, feeling the old Levantine Istanbul buildings I love.