Harbiye: From Military School to Events' Center

A lovely house among many more.

There are some good attractions to visit at Harbiye:

Istanbul Military Museum was built as Military School in 1834 by Mahmud II and the building used as museum was built in 1864 by Abdulhamit II. Today you can visit the museum and see the Ottoman architecture. Jewelry expoes are organized a couple of times a year, there you can find diamonds at good rates.

Istanbul Broadcasting House/Istanbul Radio building was opened in 1949. The radio began broadcasting in 1925, but it needed a better equipped building. Today it is still a broadcasting house, just situated on the main street, namely Cumhuriyet Street.

Another important building at Harbiye is the Vatican Embassy. It is situated in Papa Roncalli Street and opposite of the belfry of St. Esprit Cathedral. Papa stayed at the complex that belong to the embassy.

Notre Dame de Sion is one of the French high schools in Istanbul. It is a private school that was founded in 1856. It started as a school for girls at Ottoman times, but today it is a mixed-sex school. The building is simple and nice. Don't miss it, if you are walking around. It is also on Cumhuriyet Street.

You can enter St. Esprit Cathedral from one of the gates of Notre Dame de Sion. It is a little bit hidden and very well preserved. It has a small yard, but the interior is bigger. On Sunday services, it is totally full.

The belfry of St. Esprit Cathedral

Harbiye is also famous for its events:

Muhsin Ertugrul Theatre one of the biggest theatres in Istanbul, where you can watch the plays of Istanbul Municipality Theatre. Unfortunately, the plays are in Turkish.

Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theatre houses some open air plays and concerts at summertime. Games are again in Turkish, but you can listen to the concerts of local and global musicians.

Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center was Istanbul Sports and Exhibition Center in 1948-1988, then it was named after Lutfi Kirdar, who was a doctor, statesman, soldier, governor of Manisa and Istanbul, deputy and minister of health. The building went into some restorations and took its recent shape.

How to get to Harbiye?

Harbiye is ten minute walk away from Taksim and Nisantasi, so it is a convenient option. You can use the metro, but then you should either walk from Pangalti or Taksim station (for no more than ten minutes). You can also get on a bus that works between Mecidiyekoy-Taksim line. TRT Istanbul Radio stop is exactly in front of Notre Dame de Sion. There are also shared taxies from Harbiye to Besiktas.

Where to stay in Harbiye?

There are many hotels and suits to stay in Harbiye. The ones on the main street will be more expensive. Try the smaller streets. Harbiye is generally a nice neighbourhood and the number of suits are increasing day by day.

If you have the budget, you can stay at Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel. I have never stayed at the hotel, so I can't tell anything about its services. The reason for me to put a footnote for this hotel is that it is the first five star hotel of Istanbul. It was opened in 1955. Another interesting thing is that Conrad Hilton  was the second husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor, who convinced Conrad to open a Hilton hotel in Istanbul. Zsa Zsa Gabor was a Hungarian actress and socialite, whose first husband was Burhan Asaf Belge. (Burhan Asaf Belge was a Turkish intellectual, his son Murat Belge is also a famous intelectual who has a detailed Istanbul guide, and his deceased nephew Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu is a famous novelist. What a family!)

So much for the gossip and Harbiye!