Dating back to the final years of the Ottoman Empire, this beautiful yali has embraced its former magnificence as a result of the renovation work conducted in recent years.
The first property owner here was precious metals dealer Varki Vartaks, who commissioned a yali during the second half of the 19'" century on the site of the structure visible today. Subsequent to Vartaks' death in 1885, the yali was acquired by a statesman of the era, Mahmud Munir Pasha, who bought out the surrounding properties as well as the shares of Vartaks' heirs. Upon the pasha's death in 1899, Lady Ayse Pervin and Lady Ulviye became the yali's new owners. In 1911, it was acquired by, Crown Prince Mehmed Burhaneddin Efendi for 25,000 kurush. A year later, Burhaneddin Efendi had it demolished and commissioned the construction of the existing yali. A decade later, this was acquired by Misirli Ahmed Ihsan Bey, hence the reason it is also known as Misirlilar Yali. Subsequent to the death of Ahmed Ihsan Bey in 1946, the yali was transferred to his daughters and remained in his family until 1985, when it was sold once more.
Having the earlier structure demolished and replacing it with a new yali, Crown Prince Burhaneddin Efendi was the son of AbdulHamid II and Mezide Kadinefendi. AbdulHamid paid more attention to Crown Prince Burhaneddin than his six other crown princes. Burhaneddin, who was a prodigy composer and musician as well as a fine painter, would marry palace servant Nazliyar, who was transferred from Abdulhamid's harem to the Yildiz Palace harem. Though they had two children from this marriage, they had irreconcilable differences later on. Burhaneddin separated from Nazliyar to marry Madame Charles, whom he met during a visit to the U.S. As he was a dynasty member, Burhaneddin was offered a royalty position in the independent state of Albania in 1913; he was also offered a royalty position when the State of Iraq was established in 1919. In rejecting both proposals, various sources interpreted this as him not wanting to relinquish his claim to the Ottoman throne and his wanting to hinder Britain from allocating Ottoman territory in the establishment of the Iraqi state. Crown Prince Burhaneddin moved to the U.S., where he passed away in 1949; his body was transferred to his final resting place in Damascus.
Burhaneddin Efendi's Wooden Timber Frame yali was built as two floors atop a ground floor. Looking from the outside, it gives the impression that cross-shaped floors were added over the lower H-plan portion. Protruding bay windows are seen on the second-floor wings situated on the right and left side of the seaside facade. These sections have wavy roof pediments. The middle section features balconies bolstered by wooden buttresses like those found on the other floors. Four buttresses on the ground floor support the long balcony above it. There is an indented balcony on the upper side of the middle part supported by four buttresses with the yah's fine belvedere situated behind it. A striking plate in the belvedere pediment dating back to the time of Burhaneddin Efendi is inscribed with the phrase Hafiz'. Both the ground and second floors have seven rooms while the first floor has 12 rooms. A double flight of stairs beginning to the south of the lower floor hall goes up to the upper floor as a single flight. Access to the second floor is via a service staircase. Some of the Rococo-style decorations on the lath and plasterwork walls are extant from the era they were crafted.
The section still used as an auxiliary structure to the north of the yah garden leaning against the rear wooded area is the selamlik section which dates from the time of Munir Pasha. Although this section was first built as a single-floor structure, a second floor was added later on. As we have encountered in several yalis, a bridge that once connected the yah to the back woods was demolished to make way for transit road. A five-meter wide jetty stretching lengthwise on the yah's seaside facade marks the border between the sea and the yali with iron railings. It boasts the longest pier on the Bosphorus after the Kibrisli Yali Kandilli. This fine yali gradually regained its former beauty as a result of the gradual scrupulous renovation work, transforming it into an envious landmark of the Bosphorus.
