About İstiklal Avenue
It is about 1.4 kilometers of pedestrian street between Tünel Square, at the top of Galata, and Taksim Square. In Ottoman times it was the Grande Rue de Pera; the name İstiklal, "independence", came in 1923. To skip the climb from Karaköy, take the Tünel, from 1875.
The nostalgic tram runs the whole route and makes for a photo at every pass. Halfway along, Galatasaray Square is home to the country's oldest high school, and farther on stands the Catholic church of St. Anthony of Padua. At night the crowd moves to the meyhanes, houses of small plates and drinks, of Çiçek Pasajı and Nevizade Street.
