Civan’s City Notes #4: Fikret'in Dünyası

In Cukurcuma, the street of antique shops in Istanbul, there is a store with its most childish joy called “Fikret’in Dünyası” (Fikret’s World). He is one of a kind who could keep the child in himself by sharing this toy history and its heirloom with us in his lovely world. He cherishes old toys because he knows that new toys are fast moving consumer goods and have no “memoirs” like old ones.

At the location that contains oldand rich culture of Istanbul, a store with lots of toys, is hiding with its own sparkle. But this mysterious air is turning out to a warm atmosphere with the smile of Fikret Bey and hugging toys. Local manufacture dolls, collection cars, toy houses, rug dolls, miniature soldiers…

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Fikret entered this path by collecting old phone cards. Between 97 and 98, his interest moved towards old toys and he started collecting them with a golden fire truck for the very first time. Antique shops around are very important source for finding out rare pieces belong to ''the city''. He has a special collection of toys that he has been collecting abroad as well.

With its all unassumingness, the store is caressing your heart with its details, and taking you to past, naturally...

View fullsize

View fullsize

Civan's City Notes #3: İnci Pastanesi

The magnificent Beyoglu Culture which inspires Civan mostly has been a wonderful background for Istanbul gentlemen and old time ladies. By the time with the changing of consumption behaviours and urban "transformation", some of the main building stones were forced to change or shut down. Civan gusto which took the responsibility to give back what the city gave to us, set us in motion and made us support the legendary bakery store "İnci". We are meaning to show our love by writing it in our City Notes.

It probably won't get your whole attention first time you walk by in front of it in Taksim Square-Tunnel direction as it has a very pretensionless and simple display window, however as you experience the ultimate taste once you will want to have some tips in your mind to remember every time (right across Mephisto)

The simplicity of the display and and the "very small" amount of tables and chairs in the store might surprise you at first. Service employees who work like a machine and the calm discipline makes the place somewhere that you don't want to lay and hangout all day already. Yet, visitors of the store know what to do like its their job; they order rapidly and eat the whole plate in 3 moves like a professional so that new seats are opened for newcomers.

There used to be a shirt maker named Tatarian which is claimed to be prefered by Atatürk, in the current place of İnci before Lucas Zgoridis (or Luka Zigori as written on the display window) created the legendary formula of delicious profiterole. We fonder if the shirt maker knew back then that he was preparing the fundamentals of an urban legend when he decided to sell his store to expand the business.

İnci Patisserie is still producing amazing desserts at the same place where Mr. Lucas set up the business. Heir of the business, Mr. Musa introduces himsef as son of Lucas since he joined the adventure in 1960 (İnci was established in 1944). They are one of the most fascinating examples of the mentor-protege relationship's turning into something more.

In İnci Patisserie where you will be hosted gently in a vintage way, we recommend you to try their classics like Bavaruaz, Uludag Cake, Creme Caramel and Maron Degise (if you can skip perfectly looking profiteroles each and every time).

İNCİ PASTANESİ

İstiklal Caddesi No: 124/2, Beyoğlu, (212) 243 24 12

Civan's City Notes #2: Erten İvme Ayakkabı Mağazası

On one of the streets turning to left while going through Istiklal Street to Galatasaray, this is not one of the stores you can find on chance when you are lost. It doesn't have a display window which shows of its latest trends. In fact, it is possible to say that showcase is the least interesting part of the whole store which you get in by walking half-floor downstairs from the street.

However as you walk in what you see is a magnificent shoe heaven that makes you think it is so perfect that you are out of in time-place axis

Erten İvme is third and the latest generation of a family which is well known with shoe-making tradition. Unfortunately he doesn't have  a successor to carry on the tradition but this makes the handmade shoes even more special. He created one of the most valuable building stone of the whole Beyoğlu Culture in his tiny store as he also made the iconic high heels of Zeki Müren.

Even though time and some politics didn't treat him well enough, he is blissed to be making shoes at the end of the day, you can feel it from his looks and his excitement.

His perfection-centered classic style in both male and female shoes, is the return of his experience through the years. White-cream ambiance in store, clean-stylized retro decoration, on the spot interventions of Mr. Erten, arrangement of shoes on the shelves, natural leather and dye smell… These are like perfectly combined components to make you have an unforgettable shoe experience that you never had.

The common sense is that beauty is misery. This is the place where this sense is wrong as you put one of the shoes on. Not only each shoe is created to look like a piece of art, it is possible to say that each of them are one of the most comfortable things that your feet ever met.

Erten İvme Ayakkabı Dükkanı: Fuat Uzkınay Sokak 6A - Beyoğlu (Enter from the Mado store on İstiklal Caddesi into the street of Yeni Melek Cinema - Eski Hava Sokak / Tel: 0212 249 39 62)

.