Moda

Overview

At the end of a residential street in Kadıköy, a small white pier with a red tile roof stands in the Sea of Marmara. Ever since 2022 it has been a ferry stop again, and also a library with a book café. Right behind it, the seaside park fills with people at sunset, while the old city lies across the water. This is Moda. Our Sabiha Gökçen layover tour stops here.

Moda is a neighborhood of old mansions, churches, ice cream shops and tea gardens on the Asian side of Istanbul. So come for a slow walk along the shore, an ice cream on the main street and a sunset over the historic peninsula.

Moda, Kadıköy’s Seaside Peninsula

The neighborhood sits on a small peninsula in the Kadıköy district, between the center of Kadıköy and the Kurbağalıdere creek near Yoğurtçu Park. So it faces the historic peninsula across the water. Before the shore was filled in, real cliffs dropped to the sea here, and the old beaches of Moda and Lozan have since disappeared under the new coastline.

The neighborhood is known for its ice cream makers, tea gardens and fish restaurants. Its streets also hold Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Anglican churches, old schools and many mansions from about 1900.

Levantine Mansions and a Borrowed Name

Mansions by the sea

It became a fine residential area only after the 1870s. At that time, wealthy non-Muslim families built mansions along its streets. For example, the Whittall Mansion went up in 1900, and the Arif Sarıca Mansion followed in 1903. In the 1870s the neoclassical Mahmut Muhtar Pasha Mansion also rose here; locals call it the Marble Mansion, and today it houses a high school.

Where the name Moda comes from

Some say the name comes from All Saints Moda Church, an Anglican church built in 1878 after the Crimean War. However, the name Moda already appears on a map of Istanbul in the Cihannüma of the 17th-century scholar Kâtip Çelebi.

Things to See in Moda

Moda Pier

The architect Vedat Tek designed the little pier in 1917. For years, however, it worked only as a restaurant or for summer moonlight trips to the islands. Then, on August 19, 2022, it reopened after restoration, both as a ferry stop and as a library with a book café.

The Moda seaside park

A green park runs along the shore above the pier. In the evening, people sit on the grass and on the rocks to watch the sun go down behind the old city. Below it, the marine club dates from 1935. Further along the same Marmara shore, Bağdat Avenue is the long shopping boulevard of the Asian side.

The Barış Manço House Museum

Later, the Whittall Mansion became the home of the rock musician Barış Manço. Today, however, it is a house museum, a short walk from the center of Kadıköy.

Churches, schools and the opera house

The French Lycée Saint-Joseph has taught in Moda since 1870, and the old Kadıköy Maarif College stands nearby. Later, in 1927, the Süreyya Opera House opened nearby. In 1924 a Greek Orthodox holy spring dedicated to Saint Catherine was also found here.

Ice Cream, Tea and Sunsets in Moda

This corner of Kadıköy is famous for its ice cream makers, so start with a cone of Turkish ice cream. Afterwards, sit in one of the tea gardens for a glass of tea, or choose a fish restaurant for dinner.

How to Visit Moda

Getting to Moda

• From Kadıköy: walk from the ferry piers, or take the T3 line.
• The tram: an electric minibus with the same number, T3, runs on 10 stops while the nostalgic tram rails are repaired.
• By sea: check which ferries stop at Moda Pier on the official city ferry timetables.

Local tips

• Time your walk for sunset, when the light falls on the historic peninsula.
• Combine it with the market streets of Kadıköy, as our Kadıköy food tour and our Istanbul Asian side tour do, and a ferry ride to Kuzguncuk or the European side.
• Local events follow the calendar of the district’s municipality, and we book what you pick.

For more neighborhoods, see Cihangir on the European side and our Istanbul guide. Our street art tour starts in these lanes.