Baghdad Avenue
Bagdat Avenue (Turkish: 'Bagdat Caddesi', literally Baghdad Avenue) is a notable high street located in the
Anatolian part of
Istanbul,in
Kadikoy. It can be seen as the counterpart of
Istiklal Avenue on the
European side in terms of importance and glamour. The avenue runs 6 km from Bostanci to Kiziltoprak, almost parallel to the coastline of the
Sea of Marmara, within the district of
Kadikoy.
It is a main street in an upper-scale residential area. The one-way avenue with old plane trees is flanked with shopping malls, department stores, fashion garment stores, elegant shops offering world famous brands, restaurants of international and local cuisine, pubs and cafés, luxury car dealers and bank agencies. Bagdat Avenue can also be considered as a large open-air shopping mall. Most of the retail stores are open on all days of the week, including Sunday afternoon.
In summer time and on weekends, the sidewalks of the avenue are crowded with people window-shopping and youngsters lingering around. Traffic congestion is almost a standard situation on the three-lane Bagdat Avenue.
The neighbourhoods on the route westwards are: Bostanci, Catalcesme, Suadiye, Saskinbakkal, Erenkoy, Caddebostan, Goztepe, Ciftehavuzlar, Selamicesme, Feneryolu and Kiziltoprak.
The area around Bagdat Avenue has a variety of transportation alternatives in addition to the bus and taxi options. There are seabus (high-speed catamaran ferry) terminals in
Kadikoy and Bostanci, and a regional rail running just north of the avenue, which serves the district. Bostanci also has a quay for the traditional commuter ferries, which provide connection with the
European part of
Istanbul as well as the nearby
Princes' Islands.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org
