Istanbul- old and new

I only saw a little of the interesting old neighbourhood of Kuzguncuk. The quilters of the
Textile Arts Association were located on the first floor of this building, with flower pots on their balcony.

A narrow, spiral staircase leads up to their meeting/teaching room.

The star tile pattern greets you at their door.

And opposite their building is one that looks to have been restored with the render removed from the bricks.

In contrast the Levent area, where we stayed is very modern with multi-level shopping centres decked out for Christmas. Security scanners are located at all the entrances. The metro runs below this area making it easy to get downtown to the historic areas.

This window display caught my eye, reminding me of Hello Kitty.