Following the Painted Rainbows in Istanbul

My favorite city, Istanbul, has had its ups and downs this summer thanks to the Turkish government.

One of the positive highlights happened on August 27, when a local shopkeeper, Hüseyin Çelikel, set out to paint the 100+ steps leading from Fındıklı to Cihangir in rainbow colors. This was not a political statement. He just wanted to brighten up people’s day. At first, Çelikel painted only three of the steps, but then, after positive comments from passers-by, he decided to paint them all. Soon, residents were posing for picture on these colorful steps.

But this happy moment was shortlived because the local municipality quickly took action and repainted the stairs an ugly, boring grey.

Of course, this act of grey-ing the rainbow stairs soon triggered more anti-government protests in Istanbul and across the country. Shortly afterwards, the municipality (smartly) decided to repaint the Fındıklı-Cihangir in its former rainbow splendor.

In the past month or so, the movement of painting rainbow staircases has spread all over Turkey from Ankara to Yalova and Antalya to Gaziantep and even N. Cyprus. I set out to find the rainbows myself during my recent trip to Istanbul.

Following the tram route from Kabataş, I got off at the Fındıklı stop and walked south towards the Tophane stop. In between these two tram stops, you can’t miss the uneven and rundown steps that are painted in bright rainbow colors. A cat posed in front of the steps for me, and four young, German tourists asked me to take their photos while I was there.

As I had the afternoon to myself, I leisurely walked up the steps to take a bunch of photos. I found tons of colorful graffiti on the walls here as well.

Later in the week, I moved over to the Asian side of the city and strolled around the neighborhood of Kadıköy where I found a few more rainbows near the main square.

Left: Part of the Cihangir steps. Right: More painted stairs in Kadıköy.

Random street posts painted in rainbow colors in Kadıköy.

In a city that is full of contrasts, I think it’s wonderful to see these rainbows brighten up some otherwise less colorful parts of the city.

I can only hope these rainbows will remain.

The "controversial" rainbow-painted steps leading up to Cihangir.

A second set of rainbow-painted stairs leading to Cihangir.

Of course, the Turkish police are stationed nearby so things don't get out of hand at the rainbow-painted steps. Boo!

If you are on Twitter, look for the hashtags #direnmerdiven and #direngökkuşağı to find more rainbow-painted staircases across Turkey.

And for related articles, please visit:

‘Rainbow’s end?’ published in Cornucopia Magazine

‘With a Burst of Color, Turkey’s Public Walkways Become a Focus of Quiet Protest’ published in the NY Times

‘Diren Merdiven’ on Moe’s blog: Passion Taking Flight.

 More photos can be found on the Turkish Rainbow Revolution website.

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Exploring Cihangir: New Views in Istanbul

Over the weekend, temps reached in the 50s (10 C), and I was itching to get outside and take advantage of the partly sunny skies.

After stuffing ourselves with a totally non-Turkish brunch of Eggs Benedict and pancakes at White Mill Cafe in Cihangir, we set out to explore the city. (FYI: the Eggs Benedict dish is good here and even has real bacon on it! All that’s missing are the English muffins.)

My delicious Eggs Benedict at White Mill Cafe in Cihangir in Istanbul.

Along the residential streets in Cihangir and elsewhere in the city, you’ll find trees full of spring blossoms. Although we’ve had a mild winter in Istanbul, these flowers definitely make me cheerful.

 We decided to work our way down to the shore road because we planned to take an afternoon vapur from Karaköy to Kadıköy. On Sundays, the vapur comes every 30 minutes instead of the normal 20 minutes on other days.

One of the things I love about Istanbul is that you can always discover something new. This lively metropolis is constantly changing. For me, that means more opportunities for some cool photos.

We turned down a random street in Cihangir that we hadn’t been on before and walked down a flight of cement stairs. Suddenly, we were facing the beautiful Bosphorus and the Nusretiye Camii, which is in front of the Istanbul Modern Museum.

We both were in awe for a moment. When you’re not expecting such an incredible view, it literally takes your breath away. 

Looking at Nusretiye Camii from the park, with Sultanahmet in the background.

 Located by and slightly above the Tophane-I Amire Culture & Arts Center is a random park called Sanatkarlar Park. Now, I’ve walked behind and in front of the arts center building several times and somehow never noticed this very small park.

There’s nothing special about this park per se, but it’s definitely worth searching out for the views that we discovered. The minarets on the Nusretiye Camii act as the perfect framing device for photos. Of course, there’s a small shack nearby where you can order çay, sit on a stool and admire the seaview below the park.

 We walked down a worn, muddy path through the park, past an apartment building, through a parking lot and then we were on Defterdar Yokşu (Street). This is the main street that runs down from Cihangir and through Tophane to the shore road. I’ve also walked down this road several times, even just a few days ago, and didn’t notice this view below in my photo.

Again, I was confronted with another excellent view of the city’s architecture. This time it was the domes of Mimar Sinan’s Tophane-i Amire Culture & Arts Center on the left and the Galata Tower to the right that caught my attention.

 Maybe it was the partly sunny skies. Maybe it was the spring blossoms. Maybe it was the happy discovery of a new place.

No matter how many times I walk the streets here, I always discover something new.

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