Nightlife

Primarily a destination for those seeking historical enrichment and a taste of the exotic, Istanbul presents itself to visitors in a number of unexpected ways. One of those ways is as a sophisticated citified, cosmopolitan denizen of the night. When the sun sets and the spotlights go on, Istanbul squeezes into a slinky black dress and invites its various and varied communities along for the ride. Dozens of rooftop lounges and exclusive Bosphorus-front restaurants are transformed into the living rooms of the smart set. Informal and sometimes raucous restaurants or tavernas teem with the pent-up energy of the long work-week. Students gyrate to the futuristic sounds of techno music while some of their classmates, with arms raised in the air, snap their fingers to the percussive rhythms of traditional Anatolian folk music. The energy is palpable, and as new and innovative nighttime destinations open up weekly, Istanbul is fast becoming a credible rival to Europe's other nightlife meccas.

Taking in Turkish Nightlife

Don't think that because 98% of Turks are Muslim that nobody's drinking wine with dinner. On the contrary, even in notoriously conservative Konya, bars outnumber mosques, figuratively speaking.

A typical evening on the town will involve large amounts of food accompanied by even greater amounts of raki, that aniseed-flavored spirit known as "lion's milk" -- traditionally consumed in a meyhane, a tavern or pub where patrons gather to eat and drink. Where meyhanes were once the realm of men only, today they are a hybrid of the lively taverna and sophisticated restaurant, the most popular ones found primarily in the back streets of Beyoglu. On summer evenings, the main dining room moves to the rooftops (if it's not already there), where guests are treated to the twinkling lights of a timeless city.

The saraphane or wine bar and the counterpart to the birhane, or beer hall, is a more recent nightlife trend in Istanbul thanks to the ever-improving quality of Turkey's wines.

Live music is a staple of Turkish nightlife, and Istanbul's cafes, clubs, and Turkish Houses (Türkü Evleri) all provide inroads to the niche of your choice. Bars, cafes, and nightclubs in Istanbul are generally not categorized according to the type of music they play, choosing to book instead groups with different styles from night to night. A good rule of thumb is, the earlier the hour, the softer the music. Rock and pop resounds onto Istiklal Caddesi, where bars, cafes, and clubs, a few of them seedy, are too numerous to cover. Another good rule is to avoid spots with neon lights and security guards and anything with the word "nightclub" or "club" in the name, as these have the reputation of being the seedy places where bad things happen to good visitors.

Türkü Evleri are cozy little cafe/restaurants that book Turkish folk musicians performing typical Anatolian ballads to the accompaniment of the saz and drums. Clustered around Büyükparmakkapi Sokak in Beyoglu, the cafes also serve basic Anatolian fare in a cozy setting, usually a narrow room with banquettes lining the two walls.

Meanwhile, no denizen of the night will be able to look him/herself in the mirror without having stood at the velvet ropes of one of Istanbul's mega-clubs on the Bosphorus. While different years find these multiplexes with ever-evolving names, the themes and even the locations, stay the same and invariably involve multiple candlelit restaurants, numerous bars, a dance floor, strobe lights, and fresh breezes off the Bosphorus, only inches away.

Clubs that book popular musical acts may sell tickets or impose a cover charge where normally there is none, but unless the headliner is very popular, tickets to most performing arts events and concerts can be purchased at the location the day of the performance. For tickets to the city's main events, contact Biletix (a Ticketmaster company; tel. 0216/556-9800; www.biletix.com).

Hotel lounges or rooftop bars provide a mesmerizing alternative to wall-to-wall smoke-filled cafes. All over the city, splendidly romantic views present themselves from almost every rooftop, or you can succumb to the dubious appeal of one of the several Turkish Night shows around town.

The neighborhood of Ortaköy is particularly vibrant on summer evenings, when streets lined with outdoor vendors selling crafts, jewelry, and the like create a festival atmosphere. Hip waterside restaurants and coffeehouses are open until late, or you can graze through the stalls of food and gorge yourself on stuffed mussels.

The Rhythm of the Night

Depending on your nightlife style, there is a certain rhythm to the way things roll out after dark in this great metropolis. The choices run the gamut to bars, restaurants, live music venues, dance clubs, tea gardens, waterpipe cafes (serving a menu of fragrant tobacco for use in a nargile or hookah pipe), and a variety of publike locales. More often than not, there is significant overlap. For example, the popular Bosphorus nightclub, Reina, has three restaurants and a number of bars on several open-air levels. At the traditional Türkü Evi, live Turkish folk music can more often than not be appreciated while dining on mezes, grills, and sautés. Tea gardens are often also waterpipe cafes. And so on.

As mentioned in the dining section, most restaurants move the dining upstairs to the rooftop in the warmer months. Some restaurants and nightclubs with locations "in town" (usually in Beyoglu) move the action up to space along the Bosphorus in summer.

Cover charges are customary for admission to nightclubs, but usually only kick in after 11pm or midnight. The cover charge is generally waved for guests with reservations at one of the in-club restaurants, which start serving dinner around 7pm. The atmosphere at this earlier hour is usually romantic, candlelit, and seductive. As the evening wears on, the music becomes edgier and louder. Most of the musical venues or concert halls also charge an admission; tickets are generally sold at the box office or via Biletix (www.biletix.com), a sister company of Ticketmaster. As for closing hours, there rarely are any -- although a club may advertise a closing time of 4am, the truth is that sometimes the party just lasts longer.

So now its 4am, your eardrums are busted and you're ready to go home. Taxis wait outside the entrance to the Bosphorus nightclubs, but you can also ask inside for the manager or maitre d' to call you one. In Beyoglu, depending on the location and distance of your hotel, you can either walk or grab a taxi at one of the numerous taxi stands around the district. Taxi ranks in Beyoglu include those in Taksim Square and on Mesrutiyet Caddesi near the Pera Palas Hotel; you can also walk over 2 short blocks to the busy Tarlabasi Caddesi and hail one.

Nighttime in Sultanahmet is a bit more sober, although the restaurants, tea gardens, and waterpipe cafes provide more than an ample number of choices. By 10pm in the Old City, the streets have already gone quiet; it's pretty safe to walk around (or back to your hotel), preferably in pairs, but it's also best to stay in areas that are well-lit. If "home" is in Beyoglu, the tramway operates until midnight or 12:30. Unfortunately, the taxis waiting at taxi ranks, particularly in Sultanahmet, are predators, so best to have someone (a hotel receptionist, your waiter, your carpet salesman) call you one.

Safety for Single Men

Scenario #1: You're wandering around Taksim and pop into a bar for a quick beer or two. Before you know it, you're surrounded by lovely women and even doted on by the owner. But 2 hours and two beers later, the check arrives: $500. I wish that were a typo. Refuse to pay, and the big boys come out of the woodwork; you may even find your life and limb threatened. It's startling how many times this scenario plays out in seemingly innocuous-looking "establishments" around Taksim. One way to counter, I suppose, is to dispute the charge with your credit card carrier once the bill comes in. But the best way to handle the situation is to avoid it altogether. Stay away from anything with neon and the word "nightclub" or "club" in the sign. But sadly, there is no absolute guarantee. When in doubt, follow the advice of this guide, or stick to the hotel bars.

Scenario #2: You're taking an innocent evening stroll through the back streets of Sultanahmet. Suddenly, you are accosted by four young boys who identify themselves as police. Having done nothing wrong and always mindful that you are in a foreign country, you cooperate. They manhandle you (perhaps looking for ID, or even drugs) and then send you packing with a shove. It all happens so fast, except that now your wallet is empty. Unfortunately, with the migration of organized crime, nowhere is safe anymore. Don't walk anywhere alone, and avoid badly lit streets after dark.