Süreyya Opera House
Why is it significant?
On your left, between the shop fronts, rises a façade that seems to have wandered in from Paris: tall, symmetrical, cream-coloured, with relief panels and a sober, elegant line. This is the Süreyya Opera House, and the building has had a far more adventurous life than it lets on.
Key Facts
| Place | Süreyya Opera House |
|---|---|
| Address | General Asım Gündüz Caddesi No:29, Osmanağa, 34714 Kadıköy/İstanbul, Türkiye |
| Geo Coordinates | 40.98800, 29.02900 |
| Part of Walk | Fish, Pickles and Sunset Tea: Istanbul's Asian Side from Kadıköy Market to Moda |
| Generated | Generated |
On your left, between the shop fronts, rises a façade that seems to have wandered in from Paris: tall, symmetrical, cream-coloured, with relief panels and a sober, elegant line. This is the Süreyya Opera House, and the building has had a far more adventurous life than it lets on.
It was built in 1927 by Süreyya İlmen, known as Süreyya Pasha, a former deputy and textile businessman who loved music and theatre. His dream was simple: to give the Asian side of Istanbul its own stage for operetta and music, so people would not have to cross the water for culture. The architect was Kegham Kavafyan, an Istanbul Armenian, and the façade is said to have been inspired by the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
And then, the dream met reality. The building turned out to lack some of what a true opera house needs, and for decades it worked mostly as a cinema. Generations of Kadıköy families grew up watching films under its painted ceilings, and many locals still remember it as Süreyya Sineması, the Süreyya cinema.
After a long restoration it finally reopened as an opera house in 2007, eighty years after it was built. Süreyya Pasha's dream had come true, just a lifetime late. Look at the reliefs on the façade and the lettering, and imagine the opening night in 1927, the year the young Republic was still changing its alphabet, its laws and its clothes.
This street was once the elegant spine of Kadıköy, with patisseries and cafés where the district's Greek, Armenian, Jewish and Turkish families took their afternoon tea and cake. Some of that spirit lingers in the side streets, and the long pedestrian stretch of Bahariye is still where Kadıköy goes for its evening stroll. Turn right and wind your way west into the narrow lanes until you reach Kadife Sokak, the street everyone here simply calls Barlar Sokağı, the street of bars.