The main hall of the historic Pera Palace in Istanbul ©AFP PHOTO / MUSTAFA OZER

After a 23 million Euro restoration project that began in April 2008 and completed in September 2010, The Pera Palace in Istanbul reopens its doors to the public. The objective of the restoration was to preserve the nostalgia of Pera Palace while incorporating the technology of the 21st century.
The Pera Palace has been for over a century a significant prominent symbol of Istanbul's urban culture and witness to many historical events such as World War I, the Occupation of Istanbul, the Turkish War of Independence, the founding of the Turkish Republic and World War II.
Built in the late 19th century for the passengers of the legendary Orient Express, the 115-room hotel has hosted generations of illustrious guests, from King Edward VIII and Queen Elizabeth II of Britain or the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I, to the likes of Alfred Hitchcock or Greta Garbo. The Pera Palace Hotel is said to be where Aghata Christie got the inspiration for her famous novel Murder on the Orient Express.
It was the city's first building, barring the Ottoman palace, to have electricity, and the only one to provide hot running water to its guests. The hotel's electric elevator was unprecedented in Turkey.
Once the heart of Istanbul's social life -- in the 1920s, people came to dance the foxtrot, drink champagne or attend Turkey's first fashion shows -- the Pera Palace aims to regain its place on the social map of a city now teeming with posh hotels and night clubs.

Published 06.09.2010