Neptune Sodas

Neptune is not just a name of a planet for Turkish people; it is also the name of one of the most memorable sodas in our soda culture. Neptune Sodas were produced by a local soda company in Şişli, Istanbul.

Neptune Sodas are also one of the clearest manifestations of the years when the Ottoman Empire was a multinational global state. Mıgırdıç Isdepanyan came to Istanbul in 1911 and established the Neptune lemon-flavored soda factory in Şişli. The factory’s full name: Neptune Ottoman true lemon factory.

It is not a coincidence that the name Neptune was written in Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, Greek and French alphabets on those appealing glass soda bottles. You can also see these four alphabets on the colorful, playful and cheery labels. Parachute in the middle of the label in addition to the crescent and star on the parachute are subtle details of the design.

Neptune lemon soda first appeared in 1917, at the beginning of the 20th century. In the cap of the Neptune soda bottles there was a marble and a mechanism which held it in place. While talking of the summer gardens in Şehzadebaşı, Burhan Arpad described the Neptune soda as “The soda that makes all 32 teeth in your mouth chatter like drum roll”. With their exquisite multilingualism, Neptune sodas make soda lovers from 32 nations sound like a drum roll.

Can I have a bottle of lemon-flavored Neptune soda; an ice cold one, please!