Mystery meets history at the Pera Palace Hotel

The Pera Palace Hotel, a historic landmark in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district, will finally open its doors again to the public on September 1^st 2010. A few years and a lot of money have gone into the complete restoration of the famous hotel which in its heyday, was much frequented by the elegant and affluent travellers who stayed there after the Orient Express had brought them to Sirkeci Gare.

Pera Palace Hotel Beyoglu

Politicians, heads of state, artists, journalists, you name it, they came as well as many local citizens of Istanbul who made the Pera Palace the venue to celebrate weddings and other important family occasions.

History of the Pera Palace

The neo-classical, listed building was constructed between 1892 and 1895 and designed by Levantine architect Alexandre Vallaury in the art nouveau and oriental style. The Pera Palace was the only building in Istanbul with the exception of the Ottoman palace which had electricity and featured the first electrically operated elevator, much admired by the pampered customers. The same applies to hot water which, however, only ran to the first two floors which is why these were the guest floors and the rest of the building were servant quarters.

Atatürk stayed there on many occasions as did Greta Garbo, Ernest Hemingway and Agatha Christie to name but a few.

The first ever fashion show in Turkey was held in the Pera Palace in 1926. The hotel became famous for the Oriental Bar, the Patisserie and the ball room with its 6 domes covered with stained glass windows which served ventilation.

Glass domes of the lobby

Another curiosity is the Pasha room where only Muslim women were allowed to enter. I was given a private pre-opening tour and could admire the painstaking work that is going into the complete restoration. All wall decorations are gilded and painted by hand, many antique furniture are being restored and an oriental rug is hand woven for the lobby.

Pera Palace and Agatha Christie

In 1934, Agatha Christie’s famous crime novel ‘Murder in the Orient Express’ was published. The book was inspired and mostly written by her in room 401 of the Pera Palace which was and will be again, dedicated to the mystery writer. But, there is more about Agatha and the Pera Palace. You have probably heard about her ‘lost weekend’ where she disappeared for a few days without leaving a trace and she never explained the mystery. Much has been speculated about where she might have been and in 1979 Warner Brother decided to make a movie about it. They approached a clairvoyant, Tamara Rand from Los Angeles and she indicated the Pera Palace and a key which was hidden behind a floorboard of Agatha’s room. Amazingly, the key was actually found but it was never discovered what it fit to and Warner Brothers abandoned the project. So, the mystery remains, forever associated with the Pera Palace Hotel.

Location and directions

The Pera Palace Hotel  located in Beyoglu (map)

Mesrutiyet Caddesi No. 52

Tepebasi – Beyolgu.

Tel: (90) 212 222 8090

Take the streetcar to Kabatas, get on the funicular to Taksim and then take the metro one stop north to Sishane. Walk straight downhill and you find the Pera Palace Hotel on the left.

Sishane, by the way, is an interesting station as the walls are decorated with paintings and photographs of old Istanbul sights.

Wall decorations in Sishane Metro station

As the hotel isn’t open yet, room rates are not available but are bound to be expensive. You can however already get a glimpse at what it will be like and also combine a visit to the Pera Palace with a leisurely stroll along the Golden Horn back to thriving Taksim Square.

Photographs 1 and 2 courtesy of Pera Palace Hotel

Photograph 3 author’s own.