Important location on the shores of the Marmara Sea

Moda is located on the Asian side in Kadıköy, and it’s often referred to as Kadıköy-Moda because the areas are nearly inseparable. When you look for the area on the map, you’ll find it under the name Caferağa. You’ll notice that from the European side, it’s easy to reach Moda by ferries to Kadıköy.

In Moda, it’s all about the sea and the scenery. Although Moda is a delightful and interesting neighborhood in many ways, ultimately, the coastline of the Sea of Marmara is the most important. Because as you stroll through Moda’s streets, you almost always end up at the coastal parks. In fact, when we say we’re going to Moda, it always means the beach – and usually a picnic too.

As you walk from Kadıköy’s main landmark, the Bull Statue (Kadıköy Boğa Heykeli), towards Moda and see this sign, you’ll know you’re in a good “hood”.

Moda is an old, historical area with character. It is a colorful, lively, and culture-coated neighborhood, full of fun little shops, artisans, cafes, patisseries, and restaurants – a truly genuine Istanbul. The broader Kadıköy-Moda area is known for its cinemas, theatres, vibrant nightlife, and Rakı evenings. One of Istanbul’s most authentic rock clubs, Karga, is also located in the Kadıköy-Moda area. But you can find other music too, for instance, at the Süreyya Opera House (Kadıköy Süreyya Operası).

In Istanbul’s old architecture, basement apartments were also built in the apartment blocks. Although this may sound unsusual, sometimes these apartments are idyllic and charming with their little front gardens.

Barış Manço Home Museum

I believe every Turk remembers Barış Manço (1943–1999), and he is widely known internationally as well. He was an Istanbulite rock musician, singer, composer, actor, television producer, and host. Barış Manço was a pioneer of rock music in Turkey and one of the founders of the Anatolian rock genre. He composed about 200 songs, some of which have been translated into 12 different languages.

I highly recommend visiting the Barış Manço Museum (Barış Manço Evi) located in Moda. Although Barış Manço died young, at just 56, he had an incredible international career. The museum is an intimate home museum where you can get a heartwarming sense of Barış Manço’s versatility and his deep and uplifting approach to everything he did. Among other things, he was also a beloved children’s program host.

Moda beach

Continuing from the Barış Manço Museum towards Moda beach, I recommend stopping by the BigChefs Restaurant (BigChefs Moda Teras). The food is delicious, and the view from this hillside restaurant is particularly stunning both from inside and from the terrace: the Sea of Marmara, Fenerbahçe, the Princes’ Islands (Adalar)…

From the BigChefs Restaurant, you can take the stairs down to the beach, and you’ll be there – especially if you love the sea.

Moda Pier

The historical Moda Pier (Moda İskelesi), which still functions as a ferry dock, is an essential part of the coastal landscape, though ferry traffic is no longer busy. Today, the Moda Pier also serves as a charming book café, where you can find an almost meditative uplifting peace, especially in the morning sun by the Sea of Marmara.

Important picnic

On Moda beach, it’s not just about beauty but also about enjoyment and togetherness. People come here with friends, loved ones, and families for picnics. Pets are not forgotten either; pet dogs often run freely with street dogs and cats. Live music is also frequently enjoyed…

Beautiful and romantic evening glow

The soft, beautiful light of the sunset is like an invitation to lovers. Even though the beach is often crowded and bustling, you can always find a little spot for romance.

Koço Restaurant’s surprise

In the basement of the seaside fish restaurant Koço, you’ll find a real surprise: St. Catherine’s Church and Ayazma (Ekaterini kilisesi ve ayazma), a tiny religious chapel.

The chapel is so small that it can only accommodate 1-2 people at a time. However, it has a profound history, allowing visitors to drink holy spring water and pray by lighting a candle.

More info: Ekaterini kilisesi ve ayazma

View from Asia to Europe

Across from Koço Restaurant, we climb back up the hill via colorful stairs, from where the view opens beautifully first to the Sea of Marmara and the Princes’ Islands, and eventually to the European side.

As we stroll along the charming beach, we are likely to encounter numerous street cats because there are several food dispensers for street cats and dogs on this street.

On the cobblestones, we also find poems that we can ponder whilst sitting on the street benches in the meditative sea view. Here, there is peace, with the traffic jams of Istanbul noticeably absent. Historically, the Moda area has been a summer retreat for the city dwellers from the European side.

Poem freely translated:
“My leaves are my hands,
I have exactly one hundred thousand hands.
With a hundred thousand hands
I touch you,
Istanbul.”
-Nazım Hikmet Ran

Next, we arrive at the tea garden area (Çay Bahçe). The beach is full of tea terraces, but you can also get coffee and other refreshments here. Here we can admire the other continent, i.e., Europe, visible across the Sea of Marmara.

This area also has parks and children’s playgrounds. In my opinion, the Moda coastline would be a nice neighborhood to live in for families, although you won’t find modern apartments here. On the other hand, for conservatives, Moda might be too fun, so religious conservatives are noticeably absent – one’s worldview is always an important factor in choosing different areas in Istanbul.

Return to the ferry terminal

We now continue our walk back towards the ferry terminal. But on the way, we definitely stop to enjoy at least the famous Kemal Usta waffles (Kemal Usta Waffles), and perhaps also the renowned Ali Usta ice cream (Ali Usta Dondurma).

On our way back, we also see history in the form of the Arif Sarıca manor (Moda Arif Sarıca Köşkü). Arif Sarıca, also known as Arif Pasha, was promoted to court physician of the last absolute ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Abdulhamid II (reigned 1876–1909) at the Yıldız Palace (Yıldız Sarayı) in Istanbul after curing the sultan. Thus, the history of this manor is also intertwined with our family, namely the lineage of my grandchild.

We also pass the Istanbul Kadıköy High School (İstanbul Kadıköy Lisesi), in front of which artists, especially street singers and musicians, often perform.

If your feet start to tire from our rather long walk, we can hop on the historical tram that takes us to the ferry terminal.

The nostalgic tram (T3 line, Moda) runs clockwise in a closed loop around Kadıköy and Moda. The line is 2.6 kilometers long and has 10 stops. Payment is made with the Istanbul transportation card (İstanbulkart), which can be loaded with money at machines.

Thank you & I look forward to seeing you again at the wine tasting

We’ve experienced a lot on our long day trip to Moda, so I wouldn’t be surprised if evening is already starting to fall. So now I warmly thank you for this shared Moda day.

If you feel your heart is staying in Moda, don’t worry. Because in my next post, we will still linger here, as I invite you to dinner at my favorite Moda-Kadıköy restaurant, “Viktor Levi” (Viktor Levi Şarap Evi). If you are familiar with the Turkish language, you’ll notice from the restaurant’s name that Viktor Levi is a wine restaurant, so we might also taste some delicious wines…