Founded in 1992 and recently rebuilt, the slick new Yapı Kredi cultural centre offers multipurpose spaces for important exhibitions and film along with a chic bookshop for its own, mainly Turkish, publications.

The centre is the new home of İlhan Koman’s embracing angel-like 1980 statue, ‘Mediterranean’, above. For decades the statue stood outdoors, first in front of the Halk Sigorta building on Büyükdere Caddesi, then in Galatasaray Meydanı itself, eventually in front of Yapı Kredi Bank’s HQ in Levent, where, ironically, it was damaged by Gazze protestors in front of the Israeli consulate, the Mediterranean at its least amicable.

Opposite the bank is Galatasaray Lycée, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2018. Round the corner is the Ara Café, sadly no longer graced by the presence of Ara Güler himself. A steep street, Yeni Çarşı Caddesi takes you to the fabulous Homer Book Shop, and a marvellously eccentric and richly packed TÜRVAK cinema museum.