Starting on the European-Side in Tünel you can find Librairie de Pera which perhaps is the finest dealer of rare books, situated on Galip Dede Cad., the street leading from Galata Tower to Istiklal. No number though – the shop is between Nr. 8 and Nr. 12 so should be Nr. 10, but what it says is Nr. 77. The place specialises in antique illustrated books with some relation to Turkey or Istanbul. More expensive than it should be, but you will find books here to remember your stay in Turkey, books that most probably you won't find anywhere back home.
Continuing in Beyoğlu you will find probably the largest concentration of bookshops in
Istanbul. Mühlbauer, is the defacto German book shop, near the Tünel end of Istiklal. The shop window says nr. 481 but actual number of the building is 237. This is also where all school books for pupils of the German School can (need to be) bought/ordered.
Near Tünel, on the corner of Soyali Sokak (Nr. 24), is Eren book shop. Nothing indicates there might be foreign books. But step inside, and to your left you'll find two displays that should keep you busy for 30 minutes just savouring the titles. Scholarly and history-oriented, but if that's good for you, you'll become a fan. Jewish journalism in the Ottoman empire? Latin Catholic buildings in Istanbul? It's all there. You will find exquisite books also in Italian and French. There are other places with great erudite non-fiction but nothing quite as arcane and fascinating as Eren's small selection.
Halfway between Galatasary and Tünel, on Istiklal Nr. 199 is Denizler Kitabevi. The name is somewhat misleading, as most of the books have nothing to do with the sea. There are some nice old maps, and on the left-hand side of the shop a very decent rare books section. A slight preponderance of French but what English books there are, are worth looking at.
Robinson Crusoe reputedly is Istanbul's best foreign book shop, at Istiklal Nr. 389 (on the shopwindow. Official Nr. is 195). Very well stocked for all tastes and inclinations, and as in most other shops you can order what they do not have, including second hand books. I got a rather difficult to obtain copy of the cult treatise “The Making of the Hapsburg Empire” there, although it took them six weeks. Robinson Crusoe also have a state of the art website and you can do online shopping and ordering there.
After "Librairie de Pera", Turkuaz is the only other good dealer of antique books. Across the street from St. Antoine Church on Istiklal, near Galatasasray, at the corner of Sevenhill Boutique, is a short side street, Emir Nevruz Sok. Turkuaz is at the end of that street, No. 12. Compared to "Pera", Turkuaz is more like a classical western rare books dealer and less centred on oriental topics. Owner Püzant Akbas speaks excellent English and may be the man who knows most about old books in all of Turkey.
Exactly next door, three steps further down the street, is "efy", the French book shop.
Poor selection, the merest basics really - the classics and a few silly page-turners. They will however order what you want. They also have a shop in the French consulate at İstiklal No. 8.
Back on Istiklal (Nr. 96) at Galatasaray is Insankitap, a Turkish bookshop with a large
selection of English books. They have a "teaser" display on the lefthand side as you enter, but the second floor upstairs is entirely devoted to English books. The effect is a bit like Robinson Crusoe embedded in a Turkish shop.
Perhaps even better than Robinson Crusoe is Homer Kitapevi. From Galatasaray, go down Yeni Carsi Cad. After 50 m on your right hand side you will find this small-looking shop, No. 12 A. It's bigger than it looks. Lots of culture, history, politics and philosophy, especially downstairs, the left side of the main floor has a great choice of literature. I feel they like what they do and follow personal spleens at times, or else why would they have nine different books on the general subject of genocide and a three volume History of Albania as documented in embassy reports and newspaper clippings.
Nextdoor to Homer, at Yeni Carsi Nr. 16/A is ArkeoPera. As the name indicates, they
specialize on Archaeology, and have a good range of Archaeology-related books in English. Very pricey, very scholarly, very interesting.
Gon Comics Bookstore is a real gem! The only place probably in all of Turkey that sells
nothing but comics. We're not talking Mickey Mouse here, this is Art or at least Pop
Culture. Allmost all are English comics, some turkish. The shop hasn't been around for
long, only 2 years old. It's a few meters further down Yeni Carsi, at Nr. 34/A.
Aslihan Pasaji is a small "bazaar" for secondhand books. Enter Balik Pazar from Istiklal
and Aslihan Pasaji will be a narrow entrance to your left 100m down the street. The first dealer on the right side has some English books, the very last on the right (stall 33) has some antique books. Nothing to keep you there for more than 3 minutes, but you may score a lucky hit.
Our final bookshop in Beyoğlu is Lamelif Sahaf. A large second hand book shop very well stocked with English and French books. Off Istiklal on Cukurlu Cesme Sokak Nr. 4, that's a few hundred meters down Istiklal from Taksim, on your lefthand side (the shop as well).
A small diversion to Cihangir will bring you to MaviKum, the last stop on the European
side of my tour. A combination of book shop and coffee shop, Mavikum offers a great place to work, drink coffee and browse books. It has a supply of English newspapers and magazines and also books from all over the world.
Moving over to the Asian-Side in the Kadiköy/Moda district is Nigar Sahaf. A delightful
little place for second hand and old books, Turkish and foreign. They put the books just anywhere, so you have to nose your way around. Also they speak no languages, meaning they have no idea what they are selling, meaning you don't need to look at the prices. Make up your mind what the book is worth and you'll get an indirim (discount) of anywhere between 25 and 50 percent.
Last but not least is Bahceli Sahaf at Kadiköy Bazaar. Located just around the corner of the flower shop on the main Mühürdar Caddesi, you can find this little second hand book shop. To find foreign books go downstairs, but you need to nose around as they are not well ordered. Most are not worth a look at, but there are some gems. I found a french-ottoman dictionary from 1798, and a bound collection of the french magazine "Conferencia" from the 1930s, and amazingly a good 30 hungarian books. Never pay what they ask; try and cut the asking price by 50 percent at least.
Happy Hunting!
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