Finding an address..

First of all try to understand the district in which an address is located.

Here are some standard words often included an address: Caddesi: Avenue, Sokağı: Street, Apartmanı: building, Kat: floor, Daire: apartment or flat (i.e. actual number on apartment door). To locate the district, you should look for words not followed by caddesi, sokağı, apartmanı

For example, the following address, Istiklal Caddesi, Türhol Apartmanı, No. 373, Kat 3, Daire 5, Beyoğlu, can be translated to mean: Istiklal Avenue, Türhol Building, Number 373, 3rd floor, Flat no. 5, in the Beyoğlu district or neighborhood. The same address can also be given as Istiklal Caddesi 373/5, Beyoğlu. When an address is given, usually the name of the building is written instead of the number of the building. Most buildings in Istanbul have a name.

Please also note that in Istanbul, several streets and avenues have same name. Therefore it is particularly important to emphasize the area, neighborhood or district, first, and the street second, and lastly, the actual building name or number.

Let's try a more difficult address: Istiklal Caddesi, Sofyalı Sokak, Vakıf Iş Hanı, Kat 3, Daire 5, Beyoğlu. Again, first you need to idendify the district, which in this case is “Beyoğlu”, then the main road which is “Istiklal Avenue” and the side-street “Sofyalı Street”, next the building name “Vakıf Iş Hanı” and at last the “3rd floor” and the “flat number 5”.

Another important point is that the names of avenues and streets frequently change in Istanbul. Therefore it's a good idea to check whether the address is still same.

If you hail a taxi from the street, don't expect he will necessarily know the address to which you are headed, particularly if it is quite a distance away. If the driver is unsure, most ofthen he will stop and ask another taxi for directions, a necesity in this enormous city where it is imposible for anyone to know all the addresses and districts.

If you would like more information or a detailed map of Istanbul, we recommend that you purchase the latest edition of a book called A-Z Istanbul.

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