Galata, Pera, and Beyoğlu streetbystreet, step by step... An unusual biography from John FreelyandBrendanFreely: Avenues, neighborhoods, hans, andpassagesthathavebeenembracingvariousculturesandidentitiesforcenturies, changingdaybyday but neverlosingtheiruniquecharacters.
Books about Istanbul invariablyfocus on thehistoricpeninsula but Galata, Pera, Beyoğlu: A Biographyconcentrates on Beyoğlu, thedistrict on thenorthside of the Golden HornacrossfromtheConstantinopolitanpeninsula. Thisbookfollowsthedevelopmentandsocialhistory of thedistrictstreetbystreetfromtheearliestsettlements on the Golden Horntothemostrecentsettlementsaroundandbeyond Taksim, examining not justthebuildingsandthosewhobuiltthem, but thosewholived in them as well, frommurderers, gangstersandprostitutestobankers, diplomatsandsocialites.