Daily Travel Fix

Independent bookshops in Istanbul

Istanbul has a long run of bookshops along İstiklal Caddesi, the pedestrian street that runs up from Taksim, and several of the entries below sit on it or close by. Some are general bookshops, some combine books with a café, and at least one is a second-hand dealer tucked into a side street.

The guide below follows the order of the entries. Where a shop has an address, hours or a kind of place recorded, those details are given. Where the record is thin, the entry is brief rather than padded.

Mephisto Kitabevi & Cafe

Mephisto is a bookshop with a café, at İstiklal Caddesi 125, postcode 34433. It opens Monday to Friday from 09:00 to midnight, on Saturdays from 09:00 to 01:00, and on Sundays from 09:00 to 23:00. It offers wireless internet access, and it has a website and a telephone number, +90 212 249 0687.

Robinson Crusoe Kitabevi

Robinson Crusoe Kitabevi is at İstiklal Caddesi 173a. Its wheelchair access is recorded as limited. The shop has a website at rob389.com and can be reached on +90 212 293 69 68.

Salpa Sahaf

Salpa Sahaf is a sahaf, or second-hand bookseller, on Liva at number 16/A. It is open Monday to Saturday from 13:00 to 20:00. You can reach it on +90 538 011 8339, and it has a listing page on nadirkitap.com.

Everest Yayınları

Everest Yayınları is on Ticarethane Sokak at number 53, a side street rather than the main avenue. Wheelchair access is recorded as limited. Its website is everestyayinlari.com.

Yapı Kredi Yayınları

Yapı Kredi Yayınları is at İstiklal Caddesi 161, postcode 34433. Wheelchair access is recorded as limited.

Türk Alman Kitabevi

Türk Alman Kitabevi is listed with a website at tak.com.tr. Wheelchair access is recorded as limited, and the shop is run by Josef Mühlbauer. No street address is held for it here, so check the website before you go.

Denlizler Kitabevi

Denlizler Kitabevi is at İstiklal Caddesi 173b, a few doors from Robinson Crusoe Kitabevi. Its website is denizlerkitabevi.com.

Kitap satış merkezi

This entry is a book sales centre on Şifahane Caddesi, postcode 34134. No opening hours or telephone number are recorded for it.

Practical notes

Most of the İstiklal Caddesi shops are within a short walk of one another, so they can be visited in one loop. Check opening hours before setting out, particularly for Salpa Sahaf, which closes on Sundays, and for shops where no hours are recorded. Where wheelchair access is listed as limited, it may be worth contacting the shop in advance.

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