Nisantasi: Let's Get a Little Bit Fancy

Nisantasi is named after the marking stone (nisantasi) on the intersection of Tesvikiye Street and Rumeli Street. It contains the close parts of Mesrutiyet and Tesvikiye neighbourhoods around Vali Konagi. The neigbours of Nisantasi are Macka, Harbiye, Osmanbey and Tesvikiye. Nisantasi is famous for globally known brands and cafés. I also like the old and beautiful houses and the comfortable atmosphere.

Valikonagi Street is the biggest street of Nisantasi. "Vali konagi" means "the governor's mansion" in Turkish. The mention of the Istanbul governor is literally there. The governor changes, but the use of the mansion doesn't change. You will notice the building on the opposite of Mim Kemal Oke Street. On the same street, there is also the house that famous architect, Vedat Tek himself designed.



Nisantasi usually hosts the best New Year's celebrations in Istanbul. The second biggest street, Abdi İpekçi Caddesi is decorated with trees and lights. The New Year celebrations were cancelled due to budgetary savings.

Visit the Demokrasi Park, whenever you can. It is literally full of cats! Most of my cat photos are taken there. There are benches and a little tea house to pass lovely time. And again, cats. (I even saw a rooster there.) The most luxurious cat houses are there. That's Nisantasi!

History

To repeat again, Nisantasi is named after the marking stone. Actually there are three stone signs, the third one is on the yard of a building at Ihlamur Yolu (I'll try to find it for you). The third and the second one are from the reign of Mahmut II in 1811. The first stone, our stone in question, is from the reign of Selim III in 1790-1791.

It is hard to separate Tesvikiye and Nisantasi. Before a different blog post about Tesvikiye (meaning incentive, encouragement), some summary is needed here. Selim III ordered the neo-classical police station and the neo-baroque Tesvikiye Mosque. Selim III ordered two stones which marked the beginning and the ending of the quarter. (Third one? I don't know.)

After the Balkan Wars in 1912-1913, Turks from Macedonia and Thessaloniki moved to Nisantasi. The family of Nâzim Hikmet was also among them. (Nâzim Hikmet was born in Thessaloniki.) There were also Greek, Jewish, Armenian and Levantine citizens. I don't know have many of them are left after the events at September 6-7, 1955, which affected mostly Taksim, Pangalti, Harbiye and Nisantasi.

Where is Nisantasi

Nisantasi is in Sisli district and it is quite close to Taksim and Mecidiyekoy. The transportation options are vast. I love the streets around Halaskargazi and Cumhuriyet streets. Walking from Taksim or Mecidiyekoy will take at most 20-30 minutes.

The traffic jam isn't so bad, compared to the rest of Istanbul, unless you run into work hours. The working hours usually affect the direction to Mecidiyekoy at evenings (That's my deduction as a person who works at Mecidiyekoy).

So, if you like to get on the bus, it is also a viable option (Osmanbey and Pangalti stops are both okay.) Read the bus signs. There are many buses that use Halaskargazi and Cumhuriyet streets (Mecidiyekoy-Sisli-Osmanbey-Pangalti-Harbiye-Elmadag-Taksim line is one of the most lively lines in Istanbul.)

You can also try the metro, but if you are coming from Taksim or Mecidiyekoy, it is not worthwhile to travel underground. The undergrounds in Istanbul are so underground that it is more practical to walk when the destination is Nisantasi. The name of the metro stop is Osmanbey. There are different exits which are all walkable, even if you choose the wrong one.

From Nisantasi, you can walk to Fulya and Besiktas.

Tips

* Nisantasi is one of the richest and kindest districts in Istanbul. I think, it is also one of the safest. The interesting thing is that even thinner addicts say please, if they are in Nisantasi or somewhere close.

* Nisantasi has shops, restaurants and cafés for every budget. However, still check the prices, in case you enter somewhere expensive. The attitudes are better than Taksim and Sultanahmet, so the need for bargaining may be less.

* Walking in Istanbul requires to look ahead, but don't miss the beautiful building. Take numbers of photos. Nisantasi is one of the few places in Istanbul, where a single woman taking photos draws almost no attention. (If someone here or at any part of Istanbul says "photo, photo" looking at your face smiling, just ignore that creature.)

* Nisantasi University has almost nothing to do with Nisantasi. There is just a small building at Kurtulus and the rest is somewhere irrelevant.