Agora Meyhanesi 1890

Historical Agora Meyhane, a tavern / restaurant with an entrance on Mürselpaşa Street. It was established in 1890 by the Greek Captain Asteri, who fulfilled the requirement (“I will marry you when you moor on the ground.”) of a Istanbulite woman whom he fell in love with. Then the tavern was run by his son Stelyo, and then by his grandson Hristo Dulidis. However, according to Nilay Vardar’s report in Bianet, Agora Meyhane was “succumbed to the flames despite the trench of the regulars” in the events of 6-7 September. Although Hristo Dulidis struggled to keep the tavern alive, he moved to Greece in 1994.

The tavern’s renovation project dates back to 2006. Permission for restoration is obtained at that time. However, when Balat is declared as a ‘renovation area’ within the scope of urban transformation, all construction is stopped and the court process begins. By July 2013, people of Balat won the case. And the historical Agora Pub is reopened in September 2014, with the collaboration of journalist Ersin Kalkan, director Ezel Akay, Deniz Sevinç and Chronis Pechlivanidis, who had made Hristo Dudilis as a child. Today it is famous for its appetisers. One of the most popular ‘new generation’ taverns of Istanbul.