Pera Palace Hotel

The Pera Palace Hotel, located in the Grande Rue de Pera and overlooking the Golden Horn, was built in 1892 as a response to the need for luxury hotels in Istanbul to accommodate the increasing number of elite European tourists visiting the city, many of whom traveled by the Orient Express. The hotel was managed by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grands Express Europeens and provided modern amenities like electricity, hot water, and an electric elevator, thus offering an experience comparable to the one in high-end European hotels. During the early years of the twentieth century, the Pera Palace became a very popular destination for foreign travelers and immigrants who not only used it as a short-time residence but also as a center for intellectual and social gatherings. This photograph captures the luxurious, modern, and cosmopolitan quality of the hotel showing the electric elevator and the upscale European style interior.