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Yeldeğirmeni, Early Apartment Blocks, Street Murals and the Fountain of Farewells
Cultural

Yeldeğirmeni, Early Apartment Blocks, Street Murals and the Fountain of Farewells

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Most people stepping off the ferry at Kadıköy head for the market or for Moda. Yet just north of the pier, on the slope behind Haydarpaşa Station, lies one of Istanbul's most interesting neighbourhoods.

Kadıköy, İstanbul
Cultural
Radar Editör
September 24, 2026

About Trip

Most people stepping off the ferry at Kadıköy head for the market or for Moda. Yet just north of the pier, on the slope behind Haydarpaşa Station, lies one of Istanbul's most interesting neighbourhoods. Yeldeğirmeni sits within the Rasimpaşa quarter on a low hill bounded by the Haydarpaşa meadow to the north, the Ayrılık Çeşmesi cemetery to the east and the Marmara to the west. Its streets mix late 19th-century masonry houses, some of Istanbul's first apartment blocks and murals several storeys high.

This walk starts at the pier and ends at the historic fountain on the neighbourhood's eastern edge. Distances are short and the slopes gentle; two or three hours is enough.

Named After Vanished Windmills

The name means windmill, after the mills that once turned on the hill. According to the Istanbul Governorship's neighbourhood guide, Sultan Abdülhamid I had four windmills built here to meet the city's need for flour, and sources place them in his reign, 1774-1789. Mills in Kadıköy are older still: in the 17th century Evliya Çelebi wrote of windmills working here. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that the mills disappeared more than a century ago. Only the name remains.

Getting There

Yeldeğirmeni is a short walk from Kadıköy pier, and the ferry from the European side is the easiest way in. From the pier, turn north towards Haydarpaşa and climb a few streets. If you come by rail, the Ayrılık Çeşmesi stations of the Marmaray and the metro open at the eastern end of the neighbourhood, in which case you can do the walk in reverse, from the fountain to the pier.

From Meadow to Apartment Streets

Before it was built up, Yeldeğirmeni was part of the Haydarpaşa meadow. The meadow is named after Haydar Pasha, a 16th-century vizier who died in 1524 and had a pavilion on the shore. In the 19th century the meadow was one of the city's favourite picnic grounds.

The railway changed everything. The line from Haydarpaşa to İzmit opened in 1874, the port in 1903, and the station building went up between 1906 and 1909 to designs by the German architects Otto Ritter and Helmuth Cuno. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, land parcelled out of the Haydarpaşa gardens at the end of the 19th century was covered mostly with masonry houses. Jewish families lived on the Yeldeğirmeni side, while Greeks, Armenians and Levantines lived in the streets climbing from the shore. Settlement quickened in the second half of the 1800s, and apartment living took hold here earlier than in most of the city, which is why Yeldeğirmeni is remembered as one of Istanbul's first apartment districts.

Between 1934 and 1947 the Kadıköy-Üsküdar tram ran along Karakolhane Caddesi, the main street. When the Haydarpaşa bridge was built in 1947 the route changed and the street went back to being a neighbourhood road.

Two public buildings of the same era stand close by. The neoclassical Kadıköy Şehremaneti, built by the architect Yervant Terziyan in 1912-1914, was the municipal building of its day. Haydarpaşa pier in front of the station was built in 1915 in the Turkish neoclassical style, according to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, and is the work of Vedat Tek, who also designed Moda Pier. Both recall how busy the years were when these apartment blocks rose.

In Search of the First Apartments

Karakolhane Caddesi is the spine of the neighbourhood, and İskele Sokak, in the words of the ÇEKÜL Foundation, its cultural axis; most of the characteristic buildings line these two routes. The foundation counts some 200 listed buildings here. Look up as you walk; the reliefs, facade ornament and balcony railings tell you more than the shopfronts.

The best known building is the Valpreda Apartment on Akif Bey Sokak. Commissioned by Levi Kehribarcı in 1909, the seven-storey block of fourteen flats is one of the first apartment buildings put up as housing in Istanbul and shows the Art Nouveau taste of its day. Sources say it housed Italians working on Haydarpaşa Station, hence its other name, the Italian Apartment. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam calls it the largest apartment block of its time, with an imposing Western-style mass. It is still lived in, so admire it from the street.

Other links in the same story are close by. The Governorship's guide calls the Celal Muhtar Apartment, built by the dermatologist Dr Celal Muhtar during the armistice years, the first Turkish apartment block. The Sünget Apartment, built as lodgings for German engineers and architects, belongs to the same era.

The Aziziye Hamam on Recaizade Sokak is older than the apartments. It is a double bath from the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876), with separate men's and women's entrances on the front, and seventeen basins in each section.

When the Walls Became a Gallery

What really made Yeldeğirmeni known over the last fifteen years is the blank side walls of its apartment blocks. In August 2010 the ÇEKÜL Foundation and Kadıköy Municipality launched a revitalisation project to protect the neighbourhood's historic fabric, covering infrastructure, facade repairs, public spaces and neighbourhood organisation. In 2012 the Mural İstanbul festival, organised by Kadıköy Municipality, painted its first wall: a work by the Italian artist Pixel Pancho on Nüzhet Efendi Sokak. In its first three years the festival had 16 walls in Yeldeğirmeni painted by 7 local and 9 foreign artists, and by 2016 some 30 facades across Kadıköy.

Some walls became known in international street art circles. The 2014 work by Mariusz Waras, signing as M-City, made that year's lists of the best murals, and well-known artists such as Fintan Magee also left work here. Murals fade or disappear with renovations, so rather than following a list, turn into the side streets off Karakolhane Caddesi and walk looking up.

Ayrılık Çeşmesi and Rasimpaşa Mosque

At the eastern edge of the neighbourhood, where the Karacaahmet cemetery begins, stands Ayrılık Çeşmesi, the Fountain of Farewells. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam it was built in December 1602 by Gazanfer Ağa, head of the palace gatekeepers, and restored in 1741 by Ahmed Ağa and in 1921-22 in memory of Dürriye Sultan. Its name comes from the send-offs held here: armies marching east, pashas posted to Anatolia and the sultan's gift processions to Mecca were seen off at this fountain on the edge of the Haydarpaşa meadow, and those seeing them off parted from them here. It is a plain structure in küfeki limestone; look closely at the arch and at the stone eaves carved with buds. Buried in the 1940s, it was uncovered when the road was lowered, and its full restoration was completed in 2018. The Marmaray and metro stations are named after it.

Rasimpaşa Mosque on Kır Kahvesi Sokak is the neighbourhood mosque. According to the Governorship's guide it was built as a small masjid in 1835 and enlarged into a mosque in 1905; the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam describes it in the Turkish neoclassical style. When visiting, avoid prayer times, remove your shoes at the entrance, wear clothes covering shoulders and knees, women should cover their hair, and keep quiet inside.

Suggested Walk

Start at Kadıköy pier and climb the streets to the north up to İskele Sokak and Karakolhane Caddesi. Look for murals in the side streets on both sides, and do not miss Nüzhet Efendi Sokak. Stop at the Valpreda Apartment on Akif Bey Sokak and the Aziziye Hamam on Recaizade Sokak. After Rasimpaşa Mosque on Kır Kahvesi Sokak, walk east to Ayrılık Çeşmesi, then finish on the Marmaray or walk back to Kadıköy, taking in the facade of Haydarpaşa Station from the waterfront.

Season and Time of Day

Yeldeğirmeni works in any season, and because distances are short it is a comfortable walk even on grey days. The streets are narrow and the buildings tall, so the murals photograph best when the sun is high. Cafés fill up at weekends; for a quiet visit, choose a weekday morning.

Practical Notes

  • People live here. Do not walk into building entrances or courtyards uninvited, and be considerate when photographing towards windows.
  • Murals are not permanent; the one you see may have been repainted by your next visit.
  • The Haldun Taner Stage of the Istanbul City Theatres is at the edge of the neighbourhood; check its programme on the official website if you want to end the day with a play.
  • Combine this walk with Haydarpaşa Station and Moda for a full day in Kadıköy.

Sources

Location - Yeldeğirmeni, Early Apartment Blocks, Street Murals and the Fountain of Farewells

Trip Info
CityKadıköy, İstanbul
TypeCultural
DateSeptember 24, 2026
SourceRadar Editör
Radar TürkiyeAuthorRadar TürkiyeVisit SourceGet Directions