Cercle d'Orient "The Big Club"
Have you ever heard of Turkey's oldest social club, the Cercle d'Orient or simply "The Big Club"? In 1882, a club called Cercle a`Pera was founded by 30 founding members under the leadership of British Ambassador Sir Alfred Sandison. One fourth of the founding members were Ottoman nationals. The club originally operated in a hotel. As of December 5, 1883, it started operating in the building that Abraham Pasha had built on today's Istiklal Avenue in Beyoğlu. This building was used locally for exactly one hundred years until 1983. In 1884, it changed its name to Cercle d'Orient. 1908, the declaration of the 2nd Constitutional Monarchy and the coming to power of the Committee of Union and Progress caused the club to go through a short period of depression. Due to the decrease in the number of local and foreign members who became members during this period under Abdülhamid's control, the club could not generate income. As a remedy, the rule of facilitating t...