Pera Palace

The Pera Palace Hotel is one of the historical sites in Taksim on Istiklal Avenue that is still welcoming visitors. It was built in 3 years, between 1892 and 1895, by French-Ottoman architect Alexander Vallaury, who was also the architect of the Ottoman Bank Headquarters and the Imperial Museum at the same time. The hotel was designed in a blend of neo-classical, art nouveau, and oriental styles and was the first building powered by electricity and an electric elevator in the Ottoman era. The hotel inspired literature, such as in Ernest Hemingway's story ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’, the main character, writer Harry, stays at the Pera Palace Hotel, and it has been considered that Agatha Christie wrote her novel ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ in the Pera Palace Hotel.