Avrupa Pasajı
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Avrupa Pasajı (''European Arcade'' in Turkish) or Passage d'Europe is a historical
shopping arcade An arcade is a succession of contiguous arches, with each arch supported by a colonnade of columns or piers. Exterior arcades are designed to provide a sheltered walkway for pedestrians; they include many loggias, but here arches are not an esse ...
that connects Meşrutiyet Caddesi and Sahne Sokak in
İstanbul Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population over , it is home to 18% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the largest cities in Europe and in th ...
's
Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...
district. The building is located in Hüseyinağa subdistrict and is close to
Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...
and Beyoğlu Fish Market. It is also called Aynalı Pasaj (Arcade with Mirrors).Nursel Gülenaz, Batılılaşma Dönemi İstanbul’unda Hanlar ve Pasajlar, 2011, 213.


History

The Naum Theater and the Jardin des Fleurs Hotel were previously located at the modern site of Avrupa Pasajı, but these buildings were burned along with many others during the Great Beyoğlu Fire of 5 June 1870. After the fire, architect Pulgher developed a neoclassical shopping arcade project for the cleared area and this project was built by the
Ottoman Armenian Armenians were a significant minority in the Ottoman Empire. They belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, or the Armenian Protestant Church, each church serving as the basis of a millet. They played a ...
merchant Onnik Düz in 1874. Initially the arcade was illuminated by
gas lamps Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a fuel gas such as methane, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly by ...
placed in front of its famous mirrors, giving rise to its other name "Aynalı Pasaj". In the early years shops in the arcade included a shoemaker, two hairdressers, two tailors, a grocery store, a
haberdasher __NOTOC__ In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a men's clothing st ...
, two soap-makers and a carpet seller. In the following years, businesses such as florists, watchmakers, piano manufacturers and fashion houses were also established in the building. Today, businesses in the mall are dominated by
souvenir A souvenir ( French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and trans ...
,
antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
,
clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
and
jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
stores selling items such as postcards,
china China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and carpets.


Architecture

56 meter long, 3 stories high shopping arcade was built in a neoclassical fashion and contains 22 stores. Fire resistant
Maltese limestone Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...
was used as a building material during construction. Each store has its own staff room, kitchen and basement. Avrupa Pasajı also contains large female statues on its upper inner façade, each one representing a different craft. The ceiling of the passage is partially covered with windows. The building has
chandeliers A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now in ...
hanging from its ceiling, which can be used as a light source.
Arches An arch is a curved vertical structure span (engineering), spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th mill ...
are located between each shop.


Gallery

File:Avrupa Pasajı (1).JPG, Interior File:AVRUPA PASAJI. 1 - panoramio.jpg, Entrance door


References

{{Wikidatacoord, Q73524111, type:event, display=title Arcades (architecture) Architecture in Turkey Beyoğlu Shopping arcades in Turkey