Built in 1699, this is the oldest mansion on the Bosphorus. It has a marble fountain from which a jet of water spouts upwards, and its ceilings are decorated with flowers and geometrical designs. Unfortunately, it is in ruins, because of neglect. The original owner Hüseyin Pasa was a member of Mevlevi sect. Five Grand Viziers stemmed from the Köprülü family of the Ottoman Empire. Huseyin Pasa was the fourth Grand Vizier. Pierre Loti appealed to the authorities for the Amcazade mansion to be saved.
Part of site | Seaside mansions of Istanbul |
Variant Names | Amcazade Hüseyin Pasa Yalisi, Köprülü Yalisi, Köprülü Divanhanesi, Köprülü Seaside Mansion |
Street Address | On the Asian coast of Istanbul, north of Anadoluhisari |
Location | Istanbul, Turkey |
Client | Köprülü Hüseyin Pasa |
Date | 1699 |
Style/Period | Ottoman |
Century | 17th |
Building Type | residential |
Building Usage | private residence |
The wooden assembly room raised only two meters above the water's surface sits on and projects beyond a stone retaining wall abutting the water. Its plan consists of a domed square central hall (sofa), with three iwans projecting over the waters to the west and south, and into the garden to the north. Supported on consoles like bay windows, the iwans provide extensive views of the surroundings through strip ribbon windows placed low at the eye level of a person seated at the window-side sofas. Each window had windowpanes for shading and seasonal protection that, when raised, reflected rays of the sun from the water's surface onto the interior walls.
The interior of the assembly room is spacious and ornate compared to the modest exterior, which is painted in ochre. The walls are covered with wooden panels above the window level that depict floral arrangements composed of roses, carnations, jasmines, tulips and pomegranate branches in vases. A small pool, with a kiosk-shaped marble fountain, is placed at the center of the hall below the dome, which is decorated with elaborate arabesques. The doors and shelving in the assembly room are adorned with ivory.
This stately room was once connected to auxiliary rooms and service buildings to the east, where a two-story structure was built in the nineteenth century that still stands today. The women's quarters (haremlik) were housed in a large two-story mansion located at the water's edge seventy or eighty meters south of the men's quarters; it was destroyed at the end of the nineteenth century. The complex also had housing for servants, kitchens and a private hamam, none of which have survived.
Sources:
Dünden Bugüne Istanbul Ansiklopedisi. 1993. Istanbul: Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfi, vol.1, 239-240.
Eldem, Sedad Hakki. 1993-1994. Bogaziçi yalilari. The Yalis of the Bosphorus. Istanbul: Vehbi Koç Vakfi.
Erdenen, Orhan. 1993-1994. Bogaziçi sahilhaneleri. Istanbul: Istanbul Büyüksehir Belediyesi Kültür Isleri Dairesi Baskanligi.
Saladin, Henri. 1915. Le Yali des Keupruli à Anatoli-Hissar: côte asiatique du Bosphore (préface de Pierre Loti [pseud.]; texte par H. Saladin; dessins relevés sous la direction de M.T. Terzian). Paris: Société des Amis de Stamboul.
Ünver, A. Süheyl and Sedad Hakki Eldem. 1970. Anadoluhisari'nda Amucazade Hüseyin Pasa Yalisi. Istanbul: Türkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu.
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