While the Record Spins: An Evening in Kadıköy

1. 01
   Music

   Step Into the Record-Pressing Shop

   Start in Moda at Rainbow45 Records, a shop that began selling online in 2009 and opened its physical storefront in 2011. Founded by Salih Karagöz, it was announced at the time as a defiant opening against the wave of 'shops are closing' headlines. Since 2013, it has done more than sell records: it also presses vinyl and ships releases abroad.

   Rainbow45 Records, Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02
   Local

   Explore the New Vinyl Street

   Continue to Kadıköy Plak Kulübü on Neşet Ömer Sokak. Kadıköy's record sellers are not gathered in a single arcade: this business center became a second cluster in the shadow of the old passage. The record club opened here in 2020, and the neighborhood's largest vinyl storage spot is also on this street. Turntables and amplifiers are sold here too, so the whole listening chain comes together in one place.

   Kadıköy Plak Kulübü, Neşet Ömer Sokak, Istanbul, Turkey
3. 03
   Culture

   See the Opera House That Became a Cinema

   Walk on to Süreyya Operası and admire it from outside on Bahariye. Süreyya İlmen Pasha had this building commissioned as an opera house, designed by Keğam Kavafyan and opened on 6 March 1927. But its stage infrastructure was never fully completed, so it operated as a cinema for eighty years. After restoration in 2007, it finally began serving its original purpose as the first opera house on Istanbul's Asian side.

   Süreyya Opera House, Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04
   Local

   End the Day on Kadife Street

   Finish at Karga on Kadife Sokak, a venue that opened in the second half of the 1990s, back when Kadıköy was not yet known as an entertainment district. Next to an old cinema, it is more than just a bar: it has also published a magazine and hosted exhibitions. Much of the neighborhood's identity as a 'bar street' spread from here.

   Karga, Kadife Sokak, Istanbul, Turkey

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