The roughly three-kilometer stretch of Istiklal Caddesi (or Independence Avenue, earlier known as the Grand Rue de Pera) and the smaller roads radiating from it, are one of, if not Istanbul's most fashionable and cosmopolitan districts.
It used to be the haunt of expatriates, especially Europeans, and a handful of countries still retain consulates there cheek-by-jowl with cafes, bookstores, boutiques and cinemas housed in old, atmospheric buildings. Amid these shrines to capitalism are places of worship of a truly ecumenical range, including the Catholic Church of San Antonio di Padova (pictured above), as well as a Greek Orthodox church, an Armenian church, synagogues and mosques.
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