[2] Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south.

French culture was an important influence in this period and the wide avenues of Şişli were lined with large stone buildings with high ceilings and Art Nouveau wrought-iron balconies, which often had little elevators on wires in the middle of the stairways.

This trading middle-class was composed of Jews, Greeks and Armenians,[6] as well as some Turks, many of whom built homes in Şişli after a large fire devastated the neighbouring district of Pera (now Beyoğlu) in 1870.

The Darülaceze orphanage and the large Şişli Etfal Hospital were built here in this period, as well as the French schools of St. Michel and Notre Dame de Sion.

Although Şişli is not a wealthy district today, its central location still makes it a desirable place to live by many.

Being a central area well-served with public-transport and other infrastructure,[citation needed] Şişli is a center of trade and shopping.