Karakoy spent most of the twentieth century as a port and hardware district. Over the last fifteen years the ground floors filled with design studios, ceramics workshops and small clothing labels, while the ship chandlers upstairs mostly stayed put.
The result is a few streets where you can buy hand-thrown ceramics, contemporary jewellery and Turkish textile design without any of the bazaar routine — fixed prices, quiet shops, and makers who are often behind the counter themselves.
Combine it with lunch; the area has as many good small restaurants as it has shops. From Hotel Sultania it is about twenty minutes on foot across Galata Bridge, or a short tram ride to Karakoy.
Category:
Shopping