Not everyone enjoys finding that special little memento in the Grand Bazaar. For those who find haggling over the price of a faux-Ottoman garden lamp or dubiously hand-painted ceramic bowls about as enticing as self-flagellation, there is an alternative. The Istanbul metro system can deposit the avid, non-haggling shopper at a number of stylish, sumptuous and sexy shopping centres for a consumer feast of the glam and glitzy ,and none is more that a fifteen-minute ride from Taksim, the centre of Istanbul.
Cevahir Shopping Centre in Sisli
Cevahir claims to be the largest shopping centre in Europe, with six floors and approximately 350 stores covering a staggering 420,000 square metres, or 4.5 million square feet. The exterior is an almost total aesthetic failure and looks something akin to a giant rainwater tank. The word "ugly" comes to mind.
Still, travellers on the metro need only alight at the Sisli-Mecidiyekoy stop and follow the sign to the underground Cevahir entrance, thus avoiding the exterior altogether. The odd phenomenon known as Turkish security is as always, visually overbearing but lackadaisical in practice. Once through the entrance, there’s a lot of space. And a lot of shops.
All the regular expectations of a shopping centre are met. A huge food court, cinema complex and indoor rollercoaster are on offer, along with clothing, bookshops, music outlets, banks, electrical suppliers, home furnishings and hardware.
A giant Migros supermarket and Koç Tas home improvement store dominate the lowest level and are useful places for those staying longer term in the city and setting up home.
Kanyon Shopping Mall in Levent
Continuing underground on the metro to Levent brings the shopper to Kanyon, an upmarket residential and commercial complex that opened its doors in 2006.
Unlike the harsh cubic functionality of Cevahir, Kanyon is all sensual curves and was recipient of the 2006 Cityscape Architectural Review Award in Dubai. Like the interior suggests, Kanyon’s incrementally rising parabolic floors relate to its stores selling exponentially more expensive goods.
The tired and weary might employ the services of a personal shopper at Turkey’s only Harvey Nichols, to sort out effortlessly fashion choices for this season. L’Occitane, Lacoste, Mandarina Duck and Swarovski all have stores here. Pasabahce is worth a look for those seeking high quality kitchen and home accessories with original Ottoman flair.
Kanyon has a striking 9-cinema complex housed in something out of the future, though on screen offerings are limited strictly to big-budget blockbusters from the Hollywood machine.
Istinye Park in Ayazaga
Ayazaga is one the most recently completed metro stations on Istanbul’s only underground line, serving the glass and steel skyscraper district of Maslak, commonly referred to as Mashattan by Istanbullites. The Ayazaga metro station is about 300m from Istinye Shopping Mall, on the same road.
Istinye Park is a stylish effort to inject personality into the area. Likewise, for those planning to shop here, it’s wise to grab an injection of cash before entering the premises. For the designer-label addict, Istinye is manna from heaven.
The centre is divided into three sections, the most glamorous of which is "The Lifestyle" area. Gucci, Valentino, Armani, Paul Smith, Fred Perry, Fendi, Dior and YSL among others line an outdoor courtyard area in the centre of which is a restaurant and cafe.
Returning to Taksim and Sultanahmet
If returning by bus from outside the main entrance to Taksim or Kabatas seems impossible after amassing numerous shopping bags, the taxi queue always flows quickly and requires only 20 minutes to return to Taksim and half an hour to Sultanahmet.
And if the ticket prices at Istinye brought on a nervous reaction, it’s always possible to get back into the real Turkish shopping experience by returning to Eminönü, where there won’t be a predetermined price anywhere.
James Heywood - James Heywood has worked in education, banking and finance, hospitality and publishing. He completed his tertiary education in ...
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