Elmadağ

“Apple Mountain”

Expect no apple mountains in Elmadağ! This part of İstanbul, just north of Taksim Square along busy Cumhuriyet Caddesi, is mainly a heavily built-up transit point for getting from the square to Harbiye and the Askeri Müzesi (Military Museum) although it is lined with some impressive 19th and early 20th-century apartment blocks that go largely unnoticed.

Around Elmadağ

As you walk along Cumhuriyet Caddesi you will come on the left to the facade of the Surp Agop Armenian Hospital. Running downhill beside it is Elmadağ Caddesi which is lined with pretty little townhouses with cumbas (bay windows) which used to house elderly Armenians. Only the facades will remain once a huge new shopping mall is completed behind them.

Across the road from these houses is the huge Arif Paşa (Sarıcazade) Apartman with its Parisian-style courtyard and one wood-faced wall. It was built by the Greek architect, Constantin P. Pappa (1868-1931) between 1903 and 1906 and is said to have contained the first privately-owned lift. The apartments have always been a favourite with writers and artists including Pınar Kür (1943- – ) who wrote Bir Deli Ağac (A Crazy Tree) here in 1992. An even more famous resident was the ceramicist Füreya Koral (1910-97) who had a studio here. Arifpaşa Apartment Block

Another building to look out for is Notre Dome de Sion, a French girls school that was built right on the main road in 1856. Actually, Notre Dame is a complex which includes a High Gothic cathedral (1846) and a small art gallery that hosts temporary exhibitions. There’s also a concert hall which stages Classical music events from time to time. In the courtyard is a statue of Pope Benedict XV. Amongst the school’s many famous pupils were the sister- artists Fahrelnissa Zeid (1901-91) and Aliye Berger (1903-74), and the ceramicist, Füreya Koral (1910-97).

Nearby is the Hilton Hotel, designed in 1955 by Sedat Hakkı Erdem and the first Hilton to open in Europe. It stands in extensive grounds big enough to accommodate an outdoor swimming pool. It’s hard to imagine any competitor having such luck these days.

Sleeping

Divan Hotel. Tel: 0212-315 5500

Germir Palas Hotel. Tel: 0212-361 1110

Hilton Hotel. Tel: 0212-315 6000

Taxim Suites. Tel: 0212-254 7777

Transport info

You can easily stroll along Cumhuriyet Caddesi from Taksim to admire the buildings of Elmadağ although many buses also plough up and down the road.

Nearby areas