Eying the Vault

The Ottoman Bank Building - Karakoy 

Transformed into Salt Galata art gallery a few years back, if you still haven’t been to the Ottoman Bank’s building on Karakoy’s Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Avenue) we recommend you do it soon.

 As a part of the gallery, the museum on the lower floor depicts the history of the Ottoman Bank from its start to the end. The museum is unique in housing vaults made by the era’s famous vault-maker Sameul Chatwood. The best part is that visitors get to go inside these vaults and view old Ottoman bills. You can find more information on the museum from here.

 Salt Galata quickly became famous for its temporary exhibitions in contemporary art and we recommend you go pay a visit. The building also houses a restaurant, bookstore and a library. Even the restrooms are result of special design. You can find more details about Salt Galata through this link.

Architect Alexandre Valluary’s design, the building’s construction ended in 1892. While the Ottoman Bank moved to this building from another location, we are choosing to keep this former location a secret for now. We promise that a new post on this topic will come later, and we promise it will be good! Here is a little preview.

Take care of yourselves,

Tracer of Istanbul