Kadıköy (the neighborhood)

Kadıköy is the closest large neighborhood to Heya on the Asian side and the most Istanbulite spot in the city — meaning the people you'll see in its streets are not tourists, they're locals going about their day. The heart of it is Altıyol, the pedestrianized central square, ringed by a 19th-century clock tower, the Süreyya Opera House, and the entrances to the M4 metro and the ferry terminal to Eminönü.

Walk from Altıyol north to the **Haydarpaşa waterfront** and the **fish market** (Balıkçılar Çarşısı) — a working wholesale-and-retail fish market that's been at this spot since Ottoman times. Walk south to the **Bahariye Caddesi** pedestrian street, lined with bookshops, vintage stores, and patisseries. Walk west toward **Moda** and you'll find a quieter neighborhood with a seafront promenade and one of the best sunset spots on the Asian side.

This is where Istanbulites come to eat, drink, and hang out. The meyhanes along the back streets open at 6pm and don't really get going until 9. A small plate of meze (15–20 varieties) and a glass of rakı is the proper way to spend an evening here — far more so than in any of the touristy parts of Sultanahmet.