Kurtuluş is one of the most original neighbourhoods you can find in Istanbul. You can consider the main avenue, Kurtuluş Avenue, a hidden İstiklal, kept somewhat intact despite the massive migration to the area.
The original name for Kurtuluş is Tatavla. It is what the original inhabitants, Armenians, used to call it. Today, the neighbourhood is an interesting hybrid founded upon the Armenian background and developed into a chaotic cosmopolitan area which nowadays attracts the city's creatives.
It offers a variety of old-school shops, hype Turkish bars, the oldest Meyhane in the city, beautiful Armenian architecture and a unique vibe that combines all of these in an eclectic way.
The reason I want to do this tour is to introduce people to Istanbul's secret centre. This neighbourhood's unique vibe, in fact, partly comes from it being the most central point in the city, nevertheless, completely away from most people's eyes.
What we are going to do on this tour includes (but not limited) to visiting an old-school pickle shop with limitless variety of fresh pickle, a very small and authentic Lebanese falafel place, an old-school ice cream shop, a tiny oven baking only Lahmacun, some old school dairy/dried meat shops, the converted factory of the Ottoman beer brand Bomonti and the popular bars of the neighbourhood.
So, arrive hungry, we can share plates, and hopefully, we won't be too full for some beer afterwards.
I live in the neighbourhood, and perhaps a Tatavla Armenian friend of mine might also join ;)
The easiest way to get here is to take the M2 metro to the Osmanbey station. (M2 is the one that goes to Taksim and starts in Yenikapı) Let me know if you have further instructions.
