Interesting Stories of Historical Istanbul Houses

While wandering the streets of Istanbul, we come across dozens of historical Istanbul houses that fascinate us with their beauty. These houses give us a sense of time travel with their aesthetics reflecting a certain period and the mystery of the history they contain.

In Istanbul, it is possible to see historical houses in almost every corner of the Beyoğlu district, which was called Pera in the Ottoman Period, the region called Suriçi, and the districts on the shore of the Bosphorus. Here is a list of the neighborhoods where you can encounter these historical houses the most:

• Beyoglu
• Sisli
• Fatih
• Balat
• Eminonu
• Kuzguncuk
• Moda
• Sariyer

The series of tragic events begins with the retirement of Feridun Bey and the sale of the house after the couple lived in this house for many years. When Feridun Bey was 82 years old, he fell into a hole that the municipality forgot to cover. He died shortly after breaking his hip bone as a result of the accident. Aysel, who is alone, is hospitalized first in a mental hospital and then in a nursing home as a result of the pressures and games of the heirs. While living in a nursing home, her husband's bitter fate repeats and she falls into a ditch and tragically dies.

Of course, the names of historical houses in Istanbul do not end with counting and telling stories. Istanbul is a city with hundreds of historical houses from different architectural styles in almost every district. As these houses generally belong to well-established families, they can have very interesting stories. We have compiled a selection of the most interesting for you.

Two Lovers in a Pit: Frej Apartment

Frej Apartment was built in Jugendstil style by Greek architect Khyrikiadis in 1905 for Selim Hanna Freige from Beirut, one of the wealthiest businessmen of the time, and his family. The building is located in Sishane square, at the junction of Bankalar avenue and Mesrutiyet avenue. Beneath its imposing appearance lies a rather tragic story.

The Frej family has been living in this house for many years and after the death of the family elders, the house daughters stay with Angel. Angel, who later took the name Aysel, marries Feridun Dirimtekin, one of the charismatic figures of the period. After that, the couple continues their lives in this house.

An Apartment Captive In The War: Sarıca Apartment

A Tragic Sephardic Story: Kamondo Apartment

Kamondo Apartments are located on the street we know as Serdar-ı Ekrem Street in Beyoglu today. It is a building built in the 19th century for the Sephardic Kamondo family, one of the wealthiest families in Istanbul. The name of the architect of the building is unknown. Kamondo Stairs, one of Beyoglu's most frequented photo spots, is a structure belonging to the same family. In fact, these stairs were built by the father of the family, Avram Kamondo, to ease his way between home and work. The fact that the building, which was built for this purpose, takes on this identity today is an interesting situation on the subject.

Important artists such as Yasar Kemal, Orhan Veli, Sait Faik, Ahmet Hamdi, Melih Cevdet, Oktay Rifat and Abidin Dino lived in this apartment at different times. The popularity of so many great artists proves the inspiring beauty of the Kamondo Apartment.

Unfortunately, the end of the Kamondo family, which contributed greatly to the urban culture of Istanbul with the buildings they had built, is unfortunately very sad. With the last remaining members of the family tragically killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp in World War II, there is no one left of the family.

The building continues to serve as a residence today.

This time, we are visiting the Moda district of the Anatolian Side for our tour of the historical houses of Istanbul. Sarıcazade Arif Pasha had the Sarıca Apartment built by the Greek architect Constantine Pappa. Built in 1903, the building bears traces of the neoclassical style.

The Sarıcazade family was a military origin family that took important positions in the palace and was rich in real estate. He had valuable buildings built in many parts of Istanbul and made significant contributions to Istanbul's urban architecture.

Things start to get interesting for Sarıca Apartment after the First World War. This house also gets its share from the occupied situation of Istanbul. During the occupation, British troops seized the building and made it their base. After being used as a base for a while, the building, which served as the Armenian Primary School for two years, was taken back by the Sarıca family after the national struggle.

Today, the house belongs to the Sarıca family and the members of the family continue to live in this house.

Frequent Address of Famous Faces: Dogan Apartment

Located on Serdar-ı Ekrem Avenue in Beyoglu, parallel to İstiklal Avenue, Dogan Apartment is one of the most characteristic buildings of Istanbul with its U-shaped design and especially its yellow exterior. The building, which has Italian architectural features, was built in 1894 by the Italian architect Raymondo d'Aranco and by the Belgian banker Albert Helbig.

The building, which was known as Helbig Apartments when it was first built, changed its name as it changed hands. Finally, Kazim Taskent, the founder of Yapı Kredi Bank, bought the building in 1942. He named the building after his son Doğan, who died in an accident in the Alps, and has remained so to this day.

Some scenes from many iconic Turkish movies such as Muhsin Bey and Eskiya were shot in this apartment. Famous names in Turkey are known to have houses here. You can visit Dogan Apartment, which continues to be used as a residence today, by obtaining special permission. If you have the opportunity to visit this building, where the flat prices are millions of dollars, we recommend you to see the roof view!

One of the First Examples of Mass Housing: Harikzedegan Houses

The meaning of the word “harikzedegan”, which sounds very pleasant, is unfortunately not as pleasant as its pronunciation. This word means "fire victim" in Ottoman Turkish. This is why the houses built for fire victims who were left homeless in the great fire that broke out in Istanbul in 1918 were given this name. With this feature, Harikzedegan houses are the first mass social housing in Istanbul.

The buildings, whose project was undertaken by Architect Kemalettin Bey, were completed in 1922. Architect Kemalettin Bey had designed the project as a mass housing consisting of 4 blocks and 124 flats. The names of these houses were transferred to the Turkish Aeronautical Association after the foundation of the Republic and were changed to "Taiwan Houses". The houses, which were used as residences until 1985, have been serving as hotels since then.

A Fashion House in Beyoglu: Botter Apartment

We are sure that Botter Apartment, located on Istiklal Street in Beyoğlu, is a building that has attracted the attention of everyone who has toured the street. Abdulhamid II had the building built in the early 1900s in honor of Jean Botter, who was invited to Istanbul to be the tailor of the palace. The work belongs to one of the famous palace architects of the period, Raimondo D'aronco. It has the characteristics of being the first art nouveau building and the first fashion house of Istanbul. The building is one of the first examples in Istanbul of the type of building in which the lower floors are used as shops and the upper floors as houses.

But the end of the apartment for the Botter family is unfortunately somewhat tragic. After the death of their children in Paris in 1917, the Botter family sold the building and left Istanbul due to the sadness they experienced.

The Botter Apartment was used as a bank branch and advertising agency in the following years. After being idle for many years, it was reopened as the "Casa Botter Art and Design Center" after the restoration work carried out by IMM in 2022. If you find the time, we definitely recommend you to visit!

First Reinforced Concrete Building: Egypt Apartment

Egyptian Abbas Halim Pasha had the Egyptian Apartment built by the Armenian architect Hovsep Aznavuryan between 1905-1910. The building, which is one of the first concrete structures of Istanbul, is in the art nouveau style. With these features, it stood out from the wooden houses of Istanbul, which were generally in the same style at the time. Located on Istiklal Avenue, the apartment has been one of the iconic buildings of the street for more than a century.

This beautiful building has hosted M. Akıf Ersoy, the clinic of Sami Gurnzberg, who was also Ataturk's dentist, and many other famous figures. The establishment of MOSSAD in one of the apartments in this building is another interesting anecdote.

Sakine Hanım Mansion

Sakine Hanım Mansion is one of the legendary beautiful Istanbul historical houses located on the Bosphorus line in the Beylerbeyi district of Istanbul. The building, which is known to have been built in the 19th century, was transformed into a luxury boutique hotel consisting of 13 separate living spaces as a result of the restoration carried out in 2014. A decoration in Neo-Ottoman style is used in the interior.