Çiçek Pasajı (Flower Passage), originally called Cité de Pera, is an eminent historic arcade at Galatasaray Square on Istiklal Street in Beyoglu.

Hosting the Naum Theatre in the 1840s, Giuseppe Verdi’s famous opera II Trovatore was staged here even before it was staged in Paris. In those years, it became one of the leading cultural centers in Istanbul and Europe. The theatre was severely damaged in the great Fire of Pera in 1870, but it was rebuilt as a shopping arcade with offices in 1876 and called Cité de Pera. There were various shops then, such as a tobacco shop, a patisserie, a bakery, and a fur shop. In 1908, Sait Paşa bought the building, and it became known as the Sait Paşa Passage. After the 1917 Revolution, many noble women, including baronesses and duchesses fleeing from Russia, came to Istanbul and opened flower shops in this arcade. It was used as a flower auction place as well.  

After the 1940s, pubs, winehouses, taverns (meyhanes) were opened, and the florists had to move out. But their name survived and today we still call this arcade as Çiçek Pasajı (Flower Passage). In 1988 and 2005, the building was restored. With its amazing architecture, Çiçek Pasajı is still one the most stylish arcades of Beyoglu.   

Çiçek Pasajı hosts some favourite meyhanes, pubs and winehouses serving dozens of plates of meze and seafood with beer, wine and rakı. If you want to immerse yourself in local nightlife, Çiçek Pasajı is one of the must-visit places.