Bigudi opened in December 2006 as Turkey's first nightclub for women only, founded to make a space that did not exist anywhere else in the country. Since 2017 it has been open to all queer people, and it is still the anchor of lesbian nightlife in Istanbul.
It sits four floors up on Bekar Sokak, just off İstiklal Caddesi in Beyoğlu, on a terrace above the street. The programme is built around pop: diva nights, single-artist parties, and DJ sets that lean Turkish pop and dance.
The club came through years of police pressure and a long pandemic closure. It remains one of very few venues of its kind still running in the city, and it is closed on Mondays.
