Apple today announced Apple Bağdat Caddesi will open on Friday, October 22. Located in the heart of Istanbul, Apple Bağdat Caddesi will serve as Apple’s third retail location in Turkey.
This two-level destination blends local materials with the latest store design to create an open and fluid space for customers to explore Apple’s products and services, or participate in free Today at Apple sessions.
“With the opening of Apple Bağdat Caddesi, we’re thrilled to build upon the deep and long-standing relationships we have with our customers in Turkey,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People. “We can’t wait to welcome the local community to our newest store in Istanbul and bring them the best of Apple.”
To celebrate the opening, Apple will debut Perspektif Istanbul, a six-week Today at Apple program that pays homage to the city and its creatives. Hosted by 20 local artists, the series brings creativity, culture, and technology together into an experience that examines topics and values important to the local community in Istanbul. Attendees will get a chance to join in-person and virtual sessions that include learning about traditional miniature drawing with illustrator Murat Palta, photographing the unseen with Magnum Photos photographer Sabiha Çimen, or creating a moving portrait with visual artist Sinan Tuncay.
The store will also host an exclusive augmented reality (AR) exhibition developed by creative technologists Tin Nguyen and Ed Cutting, and Turkish sound artist Oğuz Öner. The experience transforms the store with an immersive digital installation and includes many other artists participating in Perspektif Istanbul. Using the latest iPad Pro and iPhone 13 Pro with LiDAR, visitors will be able to see ceramic vessels inspired by Ebru — the traditional art of paper marbling — in AR on their screens, and hear unique spatial sound elements.
Apple Bağdat Caddesi brings forward familiar design elements from Apple Store locations around the world and Apple Park in Cupertino, California, while integrating locally sourced Aksaray Yaylak granite and Turkish travertine. Housed under a floating carbon fiber roof, the retail location creates an urban oasis in the heart of the city, complete with a large, tree-filled garden.
Once inside, visitors will find the video wall and Forum, home to Today at Apple sessions. The upper level is flanked by avenues, where customers can explore Apple’s latest products and services. The entire space overlooks the exterior of the store through a 32-foot glass curtain, blurring the boundaries between inside and outside. The interior is bathed in natural light through two large skylights that open to allow ventilation.
For 30 years, Apple has been a part of the Turkish community, and Apple Bağdat Caddesi’s team members look forward to deepening Apple’s relationship with local customers throughout Turkey. The diverse, 130-person team at Apple Bağdat Caddesi collectively speaks 14 languages and will welcome its first visitors on Friday, October 22, at 10 a.m. local time. Because the health and well-being of customers and team members is Apple’s top priority, the store will implement comprehensive health measures.
MacDailyNews Take: Visits to Apple Bağdat Caddesi on opening day will be by appointment only. Customers can choose from available times at apple.com/tr/retail/bagdatcaddesi. Capacity will be limited, so guests may experience wait times before entering the store.
I give [Apple] two years before they’re turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake. – David Goldstein, Channel Marketing Corp. President, commenting on Apple’s plan to open retail locations, May 21, 2001
Sometimes, we look back and just laugh, laugh, laugh.https://t.co/mPDn5LoMsB
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) October 22, 2021
Wasn’t it Dvorak that said something along the line of this Apple retail stores experiment would fail in 6 months? Funny, they outlasted him. I almost miss him and his stupid comments. j/k
For those of us who were in the know early on (I confess that I stumbled into the Apple ecosystem in 1999) it is so much fun to know “we told you so.” Apple’s intestinal fortitude to provide great products, services and experiences to customers who are willing to pay for them has always been the right approach. For those knuckle walkers who still mistake high sales volume and market share as signs of a successful business, I say there’s no hope for you. You just don’t get it.
Owning the relationship with the customer and selling direct – what a concept.
I’m laughing with MDN on this one.