Like other very elegant structures that make up this dreamy landscape, these summer residences are found mostly between the districts of Yenikoy-Tarabya and have very' intriguing pasts.
One of these is the Austrian Consulate on the northern outskirts of Yenikoy. Dating to the late-19th century, the structure's owner was an Istanbul precious metals broker, Cezayirliyan Mikirdic. Sufficiently wealthy to loan funds to the Ottoman State, Cezayirliyan was under the auspices of a prominent statesman of that era, Reid Pasha when he began the construction of his shore palace in Yenikoy. However, the future was to bode ill for Cezayirliyan as his sponsor, Reid Pasha vacated his grand vizierate office; Cezayirliyan was obliged to forfeit his possessions in view of accusations lodged at him. Amongst these was the shore palace which was under construction. The reigning sultan, Abdul Hamid II acquired this incomplete yah for a fee and then allocated it to the Austrians as their embassy in the spring of 1884. Construction recommenced and was finally completed in 1898. Used during World War I as the Austrian-Hungarian Embassy, the building has served as the Austrian Consulate and Culture Center since the embassies moved to Ankara after 1923.
This ashlar block work of Imperial Architect Mikirdic and his assistant Carkciyan was built in the Neoclassical style. It has three floors as well as a service floor and boiler room. The main entrance into the building is accessed via a marble staircase. Upon entering, visitors encounter a I28-meter long hall, with rooms beneath this hall. Two of the living rooms are smaller than the others, and they feature balconies. The second floor has a rather high ceiling adorned with square segments and engraved flowers. There are five rooms situated on this floor. A staircase here leads up to the third floor. There is also a church to the north of the structure within an eight-acre 1 garden. While the building is surrounded by four walls, there are stables, a carriage shed and kitchen structures in the garden. The building remained to the rear of the avenue after the shore road opened in the early 1930's. Covered with monumental magnolia, linden, acacia, pine and plane trees, the rear garden encompasses three embankments on the hill.
The Italian Ambassadorial summer residence is also found in the same area. The architect Raimondo d'Aronco built this three-story block structure in 1906. Upon entering, visitors are greeted by a winged lion figure poised atop a column to the right of the entry hall. Representing the founding of Rome, the figures of Romus and Romulus are seen atop of the left column. The ceiling of the hall is divided into intertwining cartridges adorned with meandering motifs. Floral motifs have wrapped around the head of the helmeted woman seen on the staircase ascending to the first floor. The first floor features a ballroom, dining room, terrace and a bridge passing over to the garden. Allocated to the servants, the second floor has a low-slung ceiling with wooden partitions. A wide-arched balcony is found on the attic beneath the roof `kith its expansive eaves.
In his work, Bosphorus Memories Sedat Hath Eldem wrote that it was given by Abdul Hamid II as a wedding present to Princess Elena of Montenegro, who married the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel HI. The German Embassy summer residence is situated between Yenikoy-Tarabya. Constructed on land where the Tarabya Mansion previously stood, the embassy building embellishes the Bosphorus with a bright green backdrop of a 42-acre wooded area. Abdul Hamid II spent his adolescence in what later became the summer residence of the German Consulate to the south of Tarabya. Later he gave it to Kaiser Wilhelm II in return for his re-establishing the Ottoman Navy. The mansion was designed by the Belgian architect Cingria, who had won a prize in a competition to come up with the best plans. His draft was altered by the famous archaeologist and architect, W. Dortfeld. In 1885, Armin Wegner undertook the construction of the structure whereas it was completed two years later.
The mansion sits in a 45-acre garden, and a path through it leads to a small cemetery containing the graves of 245 German troops slain during World War I. There is also an obelisk-shaped war memorial that records the stay of Sultan Mahmud II in a military camp here in 1829 and the role played by Prussian General Helmuth von Moltke to reform the Ottoman Army. The main building is in the manner of a lath and plasterwork chalet. The Eclectic style is dominant in the ambassador's home, which overlooks the sea in the front portion. There is also a small chapel used by both Catholics and Protestants alike. It was transformed into an academy by the German Parliament in 2008; this summer pavilion was inaugurated as a cultural residence on October 13th, 2011.
The French Embassy summer residence is located on Kefelikoy Caddesi in Tarabya. The work of the Dutch architect Antoine-Ignace Melling, the first structures here were a pair of yalis belonging to Prince Ipsilanti, who was the Governor of the Wallachian and Moldavian vassals during the reign of Selim III. When war broke out with Russia in 1807, Ipsilanti fled to Russia, whereas Selim III granted the vacated mansion to the French Ambassador Sebastiani, who utilized it as the French Embassy summer residence. The original double yalis of Alexander Ipsilanti were destroyed in a fire in 1903, whereas the other, smaller yah was partially burned in another fire in 1932; this was repaired and reopened for utilization. During the early-19th century, the British were envious of the French yali on the Bosphorus. It wasn't long before the Ottoman-French relations cooled considerably when Emperor Napoleon invaded Egypt, which led to an opportunity for the British Government in this regard. In taking advantage of this situation, Britain acquired the yali owned by the Greek Muruzi family next to the French Embassy, becoming another foreign state that owned a yali on the Bosphorus. Nevertheless, this yali was destroyed in a fire that broke out in 1911.
Constructed from ashlar block, the neo-Baroque summer residence of the Russian Consulate decorates the Bosphorus shores of the Kirecburnu. Dating back to the second half of the 18th century, this structure has a green woody backdrop in Kirecburnu.
Due to the road passing in front of it, the yali of that time was moved away from the sea and turned into a pavilion. This three-story structure has a two-acre wooded area behind it. While the first and third floors are low-slung, the higher middle floor features a small balcony with four columns on the front terrace. The balcony's columns support the protrusion on the top floor. With different shaped windows on each floor of the structure, there are seven rooms and two halls on the ground floor. The second floor has six rooms and two halls as well as two balconies on the front and rear facades. The third-floor features 12 rooms and two spacious halls.
The green Spanish Embassy summer residence is situated in Buyukdere. Dating back to the mid-19th century, the architect of this ashlar block Neoclassical style structure is anonymous. Comprised of two floors over a service floor, each of the first and second floors of this building has six rooms and a spacious hall. A wooden staircase provides access to the floors. While the terrace floor has a flat ceiling, the second floor is relatively plain compared to that found on the first floor, which is quite lavish. an attic, as well as first and second floor balconies, each supported by four columns.
