The avenue would then be taken over by neighborhood toughs and surrender to the night life of a red light district shot through with passion and brutality.

Some of the contradictions of Pera have been reconciled, most glossed over and today we have another avenue in its place called İstiklal. It is an intellectual hangout as well as a shopping and entertainment center. The modern Turkish cinema was born along this avenue and has given its name to one of the side streets: Yeşilçam. Despite the upheavals engulfing Istanbul and its districts in the twentieth century, filmmakers have not abandoned this street. The Figüranlar Kahvesi continues to be the meeting point of extras waiting for the day when they will get their big role.

The nostalgic tramway trip along the İstiklal Avenue to Tünel and the subway to the Karaköy shore, probably the shortest underground in the world, are a reminder of how much our concepts of distance and travel have changed over time.