Going to Istiklal Avenue

Walking Along Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul

Walking Along Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul

I spent most of the morning here in Istanbul just walking around the area around Galata. There are a lot of small streets here which have numerous shops. It seems that this area is a commercial area. I wasn’t expected anything from this walkabout but then I noticed that I ended up at what appears to be a pedestrian shopping street named Istiklal Avenue. I didn’t know they have that here but it was a welcome discovery. You can tell that this place is popular because there are a lot of people walking around. Typically of pedestrian shopping streets. The Istiklal Avenue is packed with shops.

Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul

Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul

It wasn’t all shops but there are also restaurants here. I was keeping an eye out for any places where I would be able to have lunch but I still have time. For now, I was admiring the beautiful street. Walking down here you will think that Istanbul is such a European city. There are a lot of structures here that are wonderfully preserved/restored. I was surprised to know that most of the structures here are from the Ottoman empire but it also gave me an idea of how it was back then. The structures were more “modern” than I gave the Ottomans credit for.

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