Striking for its primer red paint, this old Turkish yali is a precious example that has managed to survive the centuries.
The first owner of the yali was an Armenian who was a gardener of Mahmud II. Constructed between 1820-30, the yali was the talk of the town for its well-manicured garden and elegant roses. As an inheritance in the same family through until 1930, the yali was sold as its heirs migrated to France. The Turkish Ambassador to Berlin, Ismail Hakki Pasha's daughter, Remziye became the yali's new owner. Painted a milky coffee color at that time, this fine yali was bequeathed to Remziye daughter, Halet Cambel after her death in 1965. Besides becoming the new owner of the yali, Halet Cambel was also the first female athlete to represent the Republic of Turkey in the Olympic Games (XII Summer Olympiad-Berlin 1936).
We have learned some details about the yali from German General Helmut von Moltke, who was a guest at the yali and was posted to Turkey to modernize the Ottoman Army in 1836. Moltke related about the yali in a section of a letter he wrote in February 1836; "The home where I reside here is quite large and wide. The waves of the Bosphorus lap at its skirt while a high cliff climb from behind. This enables us to go straight from the third floor onto the garden embankment. As was seen many times in this vicinity, the house also covers the top of the street; there is a row of large garden doors below the street. Although my landlord arranged the home quite nicely, according to the manner here, there isn't even a single stove; at least he could have placed braziers in the rooms from which we can make tandoori. The calque quay is directly beneath my window."
The top part of the garden comprised of embankments that Helmut von Moltke mentioned in his letter was one of the gardens in this district where the famous Ottoman strawberries were grown. A laundry house, a kitchen, bathroom and storage room were added to the garden in later years. According to Halet, who inherited the yali in 1965, one could descend to the pier from the yali via a caged wooden passageway before the road was built in front of the house.
The Empirical, three-story, wooden yali features a bay window sticking out from the middle of the top floor with balconies on either side which were added in 1930. Having undergone several repairs, the yali was the color of molasses until 1965, when it was painted primer red during its most extensive renovation. The oval-shaped windows on the ground floor are sealed shut with arrowhead-shaped iron bars. The upper-floor windows are protected with wooden shutters. There are two marble-clad courtyards on the yali's lower floor that head towards the sea and garden. In addition to the four rooms on this floor, there are also three kitchens, two landings, two bathrooms and two staircases. There is a marble fountain with a mirror and basin on the courtyard of the garden door of this floor. The second floor features a large middle hall, five rooms, two halls and a bathroom. Bearing physical similarities from the exterior, the third floor is comprised of eight rooms, two landings, three halls and two bathrooms. While the walls of the yali are straight, the ceilings are adorned with rectangular cameos comprised of thick, long strips of wood. One of the most important remaining furnishings of the yali, which features several styles in its decoration, was a wall tapestry presented to Ismail Hakki Pasha by Sultan Resat. A number of valuable antiques were scattered over the years. These days, the old yall has been transformed into a shoreline state guesthouse with the road passing in front. It is the only yali amongst those in Arnavutkoy with a garden that hasn't been destroyed.
