Taksim Square is considered to be the city center in İstanbul though İstanbul does not have a downtown as most cities in the U.S. has for instance.

Taksim is the social center and the main transportation hub where the bus, subway and funicular systems meet. Most of the public demonstrations and New Year celebrations take place in Taksim Square.

Cumhuriyet Anıtı ( Republic Monument ) erected in 1928, in the memory of the founders of Turkish Republic , stands here. Another monument that cannot be overlooked is the multi-purpose venue, Atatürk Cultural Center (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi), one of the most important examples of First Turkish National Architecture.

Taksim in Arabic means ‘distribution’ since Taksim Square is situated up on the hill where the main water lines were collected and branched off during the Ottoman era.