When Walls Speak: From Yeldeğirmeni to Gazhane

1. 01
   Photography

   Pause at the Closed Station

   Start on the waterfront in front of Haydarpaşa Station. This was once Istanbul’s rail gateway to Anatolia, but no trains leave today; the building now waits between restoration and archaeological excavation. Its seaward-facing facade still makes clear that it was designed as the first structure seen by anyone arriving from the water.

   Haydarpaşa Garı waterfront, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02
   Culture

   Find the Synagogue Hidden in the Street Gap

   Walk into Yeldeğirmeni and stop outside Hemdat Israel Synagogue. In the 19th century, this neighborhood was shared by railway workers and Greek, Armenian, and Jewish neighbors. Built in 1899, the synagogue is part of that layered fabric, and the Hebrew inscription at the entrance reads: “My house shall be called a house of prayer, open to all nations.”

   Hemdat Israel Synagogue, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey
3. 03
   Art

   Read the Thirty Painted Walls One by One

   Explore the Yeldeğirmeni murals around Karakolhane Caddesi. Mural Istanbul began in 2012 as a wall-painting festival launched by Kadıköy Municipality. Around thirty building facades in the neighborhood were painted, with twenty-five international and seven Istanbul-based artists participating over time. These facades are the most visible result of the area’s neighborhood revitalization.

   Karakolhane Caddesi intersection, Yeldeğirmeni, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04
   Culture

   Step into the Neighborhood’s Art House

   Continue to Yeldeğirmeni Sanat, the cultural hub at the center of the neighborhood’s renewal. Workshops, exhibitions, and programs open to locals gather here, and it is also where the mural festival behind the street works has been organized. It shows that the art on the walls has a real address behind it.

   Yeldeğirmeni Sanat, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey
5. 05
   Art

   Circle the Bull at the Junction

   Make your way to the Kadıköy Bull at Altıyol. The bronze sculpture was made in 1864 by French sculptor Isidore Bonheur. A copy once stood in Berlin, and during the First World War years it arrived in Istanbul as a gift. After moving several times through the city from Yıldız onward, it was brought to Kadıköy in 1970 and placed at its current junction in 1987.

   Kadıköy Boğa Heykeli (Altıyol), Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey
6. 06
   Music

   See the Opera That Spent Eighty Years as a Cinema

   Visit Süreyya Opera on Bahariye Street. The building was commissioned by Süreyya İlmen in 1924 and completed in 1927 by architect Keğam Kavafyan. It was designed as an opera house, but because the stage section was never completed and no company could be formed, it functioned as a cinema for eighty years. After restoration, it reopened in 2007 as the first opera stage on Istanbul’s Asian side.

   Süreyya Operası, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey
7. 07
   Culture

   Hear the Factory’s Rescue Story

   Finish at Müze Gazhane in Hasanpaşa. The Hasanpaşa Gasworks began production in 1892 and supplied gas to Kadıköy and Üsküdar until it closed in 1993. Its demolition was prevented by neighborhood residents organized as the Gazhane Environmental Volunteers, and the site was placed under protection in 1994. It reopened in 2021 as Müze Gazhane, now home to the Climate Museum, a cartoon museum, a library, and two performance stages.

   Müze Gazhane main entrance, Hasanpaşa, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey

Check opening hours before you go. Hours, access conditions and weather can change.