Kalamış is one of the most pleasant neighborhoods in Istanbul. It’s an upscale areas located in the Kadıköy district on the Asian side.
Walking from Central Kadıköy or Moda towards Fenerbahçe, you’ll pass Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium (Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadyumu). It’s the home of the Fenerbahçe football club and contains a museum and gift shop.
The Barış Manço Museum (Barış Manço Müzesi) was the home of Turkish rock star Barış Manço. It’s located in the Moda neighborhood of Kadıköy.
Bahariye is a small neighborhood in Kadıköy. It’s located near Central Kadıköy and Moda. The area is focused around Bahariye Street, which contains lots of shops.
Kadıköy has some excellent choices for food and drinks. Most of my experience is in Central Kadıköy (Merkez) and Moda, but there are also decent places along Bağdat Avenue (Bağdat Caddesi) in Caddebostan and Suadiye.
Bağdat Avenue (Bağdat Caddesi) is one of the most important streets in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul. It runs from east to west from Maltepe to Kadıköy for about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles).
Before I ever set foot in Istanbul, my friend Tim raved about Çiya (pronounced Chia, as in Chia Pet). He told me if I do one thing in Istanbul, skip the historic sites and go eat at Çiya. He was definitely onto something. I wouldn’t exactly skip the historic sites, but if there’s one restaurant that you cannot miss in Istanbul, it’s Çiya.
I was very lucky to be able to spend Orthodox Holy Week and Easter in Istanbul in two different years. It’s a very beautiful time of year no matter where I am, but it had special meaning being in the city that’s home of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Christian world.