Guiding Architects, tour: From Empire to Modernity: Tracing Istanbul’s Cultural Pulse (Fig. 1)

Guiding Architects, tour: From Empire to Modernity: Tracing Istanbul’s Cultural Pulse (Fig. 2)

Guiding Architects, tour: From Empire to Modernity: Tracing Istanbul’s Cultural Pulse (Fig. 3)

Guiding Architects, tour: From Empire to Modernity: Tracing Istanbul’s Cultural Pulse (Fig. 4)

Guiding Architects, tour: From Empire to Modernity: Tracing Istanbul’s Cultural Pulse (Fig. 5)

Guiding Architects, tour: From Empire to Modernity: Tracing Istanbul’s Cultural Pulse (Fig. 6)

Tour in Istanbul:
From Empire to Modernity: Tracing Istanbul’s Cultural Pulse

This tour explores the landmarks and ideas that have shaped Istanbul’s cultural and intellectual life from the 19th century to today. We begin at Taksim Square, the city’s symbolic civic space, where debates over modernity and tradition are embodied in the story of the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), founded in 1946 and reopened multiple times in 1969, 1978, and in 2021. From there, we follow the lively İstiklal Street, a pedestrian avenue framed by 19th-century facades, past the prestigous Galatasaray High School and bank-owned art museums and galleries that breathe new life into historic buildings.

A visit to The Museum of Innocence, inspired by Orhan Pamuk’s novel, opens a window into the intimate domestic world of Istanbul. Our walk ends at the Galataport waterfront, a disputed project, where modern architecture, a fancy hotel, art museums, shops, restaurants, and an innovative cruise-ship terminal define a new shoreline, gentrified but open to the public.