The beating heart of Beşiktaş, this bustling backstreet area packed with shops, restaurants, bars, cafes – and the neighbourhood’s youthful crowd – is known simply as ‘çarşı’ (market). Its hubs are the fish market, covered by a distinctive steel canopy and lined at the back by meyhane (tavern) restaurants, and the small square centred around a statue of a black eagle, the symbol of the Beşiktaş football club and a rallying point on match nights.