Word: istanbul
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Built in 1875 on a hill overlooking the Bosphorus, Istanbul's Akaretler Row Houses were once regarded as a symbol of change and modernity. The 33 elegantly neoclassical dwellings were designed by a Paris-educated, Ottoman-Armenian architect as accommodation for military staff based in the nearby Dolmabahce Palace. Modern Turkey's founder and onetime army officer, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, lived for a time in No. 76 with his mother...
Some 134 years and a $75 million face-lift later, the buildings remain an extremely desirable address, inhabited this time by upmarket fashion labels such as Marc Jacobs and Chloe, and a hotel, W Istanbul, tel: (90-212) 381 2121. One of the boutique chain's two European properties (the other is in Barcelona), W Istanbul is a curious mix of bling - crystals and ambient pink lighting feature heavily - and classic Ottoman design elements such as sleek marble hammam-style bathrooms and colors of rich chocolate, cream and dark red. (See 25 authentic Asian experiences...
...moment of opportunity. "There is reason to be more optimistic than ever before," says Metin Munir, a Turkish Cypriot political commentator. "The biggest change is that Turkey, a dominant party in the conflict, now wants a solution. They are willing to compromise." (See pictures of the streets of Istanbul...
...pictures of the streets of Istanbul...
Pamuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. The native of Istanbul is now a professor at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing. His books have sold over seven million copies, and his statements on politics have generated much controversy, especially in Turkey...