Currently closed for some much-needed renovations, the Pera Palace was built in 1892 to accommodate guests arriving on the Orient Express. Everyone who was anyone in the late 19th and early 20th centuries stayed here, from Mata Hari to numerous heads of state, and the rooms once occupied by Kemal Atatürk and Agatha Christie were turned into museums. The hotel has always been full of atmosphere and quirky charm, but although it had been modernized, the facilities and rooms were not in the greatest shape. The Pera is supposed to reopen in late 2009 or the beginning of 2010, but check the Web site for updates.
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