You can find the real İstiklal hidden in the passages

If you want to get a good idea of what the “market” these days is, taking a stroll from Taksim Square down the gently winding boulevard to Tünel is a great idea. New music, new books, new exhibitions, new clothes, even new ways of talking and behaving are on display along İstiklal.

Is there nothing interesting left these days? Of course there is, but even the “interesting” can become a bit ordinary on İstiklal. If what you are looking for is something unique and if all those store windows advertising new fashions are beginning to wear you down, then the cure for what ails you is in the passages of İstiklal Caddesi. And just to be sure, we ourselves decided to take a look at the passages of İstiklal, to give you an idea before you set out:

EMEK PASAJI

On your first step into this passage, your eyes will take in a colorful collection of items, from bright shawls to hats, glasses to jewelry and the like. If it weren't for a small music store at the entrance, the only view you would get upon entering Emek Pasajı is of all these items. But on the top floor, there is the Yeşilçam Cafe. Named after Turkey's equivalent of Hollywood, it is a capacious spot filled with black-and-white photos of film stars from Ülkü Erakalın's archives. The voice of Sezen Aksu fills the largely empty -- due to the recently implemented cigarette ban -- salon. We ask Mustafa Yüksel, a recent political science graduate who works here at the café, “Where exactly is Yeşilçam in this cafe?” He answers, “Really only on the walls.” He continues, “There used to be exhibitions here, but now it's just a spot where people who work in the theaters and journalism and such stop by.”

ATLAS PASAJI

Atlas is the İstiklal passage where change is most visible. Many former devotees of this passage are now truly disappointed by much of the change that has taken place here, transforming Atlas into a spot where you can pick up items you might be able to find at just about any İstanbul open market. One of the employees at Bağlam Publications recalls for us how it used to be: “There used to be antiques sold at Atlas Pasajı, as well as books and many special items. But now it's full of stuff from China and India. Since handmade [products] have become so expensive, the stores are full of cheaper goods, which offer higher profit margins.” Atlas is well known for being the busiest of the passages on İstiklal. Pass the Sadri Alışık Theater at the entrance to the passageway, and you will encounter a clothing store of the type that suits this style of passage: the Pulp Club. This store is full of interesting items and great music, as well as styles and colors that not everyone has the courage to wear.

AZNAVUR PASAJI

On the first floor of the Aznavur, there are some older stores left, one selling handbags, another selling silver and yet another selling combs made from bone. And despite the fact that the second story here now lies vacant, this passageway still maintains its unique and special feel. This is where you should look if you need a box for your business cards with a tile design on top or a beautiful mirror. There is a generously laid out store on the first floor of this passage that sells specially designed T-shirts and handbags. We speak with a student from Bahçeşehir University who works at this store, asking him whether the youth here always wear both earrings and goatees. He notes, “With the style I have, I wouldn't be able to work anywhere else really.” We like the funny sayings and logos on the T-shirts here, but this student believes the T-shirts should be found in the open markets, not here. Note that the music stores in these passageways definitely attract a different crowd than the largely pop music-oriented stores directly on İstiklal. The customers who come to the passageway music stores tend to listen more to rock, heavy metal or the blues.

SURİYE PASAJI

The most interesting store you'll find in Suriye Pasajı is the secondhand clothing store “By Retro.” And it must be largely film crews who take advantage of the shoes, dresses and handbags from the past sold here, as you see said crew members racing around with costumes in hand. The director of this passageway, Hüseyin Baran, doesn't allow more ordinary stores that would ruin the atmosphere to take root here. Baran also won over the hearts of merchants in this passage by getting rid of the small handbag store by the staircase that was apparently selling stolen handbags and purses. Baran is responsible for the general care of this 110-year-old building.

AVRUPA PASAJI

This passage lies directly across from Galatasaray Lisesi and is much better cared for and cleaner looking than many of its counterparts on İstiklal. There are antique sellers, secondhand booksellers, chic handbags and interesting shawls being sold here. The employees of a publication house that has just moved into offices on the top floor of this passage have made it their duty to see that the atmosphere of this passageway is not ruined. They believe that Avrupa Pasajı occupies a very special place on İstiklal and note that the further down İstiklal you head, the more prices start to rise and the more elite the atmosphere becomes.

ASLIHAN PASAJI

This passageway sits right next to Avrupa Pasajı, and we hear a bit about the history of Aslıhan Pasajı from the unofficial historian of the spot, passage director Vahan Antikyan: "Twenty-five years ago, this floor had only a music hall. When the non-Muslims moved on and the stores in the passageway changed hands, it was then that the secondhand booksellers began to gather here.” Antikyan's store is on the first floor of the passage, and his business is producing fringes and braided cords from thread. He used to work in the Hacı Pulo Pasaj, which today we know simply as “Hazzopulo.” Antikyan describes the changes in the goods sold in these passageways on İstiklal, explaining, “It was only after 1980 that all the silver jewelry and beads and things started to be sold here.”

BEYOĞLU PASAJI

This spot is known popularly as “Beyoğlu Pasajı,” but officially it is called “Beyoğlu İş Merkezi” and is largely famous for being an influence on street fashion, as well as its sales of surplus clothing originally headed for export out of Turkey. Though sales were great here before the global economic crisis hit, this passage now tries to attract as many customers as it can.