İstiklal Caddesi
İstiklal Caddesi (Independence Street) is the long main street defining Istanbul’s historical Beyoğlu district. It’s perhaps best known for its shopping opportunities, which range from the high-class to the hipster. Equally worth seeing, though, is the nightlife of the area. From opposite the staid Galatasaray Lycée a rabbit-warren of tiny bars, clubs and restaurants begin – many with excellent terrace seating upstairs for hot summer nights.
Galata Tower
Just off İstiklal, next to the Tünel (historical underground railway) mentioned in the dialogue, is the Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi), which you first met in Unit 2. Built as part of the fortification of the city by the Genoese in 1348, it is famous not only for its iconic shape and excellent views, but also for its supposed place in the history of human flight. The famous Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi claims in his Seyahatname (book of travels) that in the early 17th century a man made himself a glider and jumped off the tower, landing in a square on the Asian side of the city over 6 kilometres away! He also mentions other unwise experimental air travel starting at the tower, including people shooting themselves out of cannons to see how far they would fly…
Thank you for visiting HandsOnTurkish. Our award winning interactive courses of Turkish have been developed for anyone with a genuine interest in the Turkish language and Turkish culture, whether for private, educational or professional reasons and are specially designed for self-study. Our website and our language courses are free from advertisements and we don't share any personal details of our visitors or registered members with third parties. Nor do we sell data for targeted advertising. We believe passionately that learning should be free from commercial distractions. For this reason we rely on subscriptions to fund the development of our products. Click here to find out more about our online Turkish courses.