SERIFLER YALI
Located in Emirgan, Serifler Yali is the oldest wooden yali (seaside mansion) on the European side of the Bosphorus. Situated adjacent to Emirgan Mosque, it dates back to the same period as the mosque.
Constructed by the famous Dutch architect, Antoine Ignace Melling, us yali was once comprised of a three-story 900 m2 harem and a 345 m2 central section connected by a bridge-like corridor propped up on stilts. The harem was demolished from the sea when the coast road as built in the 1940's; only the central section remains intact.
The history of this Baroque-style yali dates further back than the construction of the existing structure. According to records, the first veer of this structure and the region was Yusuf Khan Emirgune. During the Eastern Expedition of 1635, Iranian Commander Yusuf Khan Emirgune surrendered to Sultan Murad IV before the Battle of Yerevan. He was rewarded with the large expanse of land that bears name of the khan today. Having commissioned various pavilions d yaps on this wide territory along the seashore, the emir also had palace and a banquet hall secluded in a vineyard in place of the seen today.
The halcyon days of Yusuf Khan, who had a fine friendship with the sultan, waned during the subsequent period when there was a successor to the throne. Succeeding Murad upon his death, Ibrahim appointed Mustafa Pasha to the grand vizierate and had Yusuf Khan Emirgune executed as well as the colleagues of the previous sultan to maintain the integrity of the state. After Emirgune was executed, the vineyard which he was granted along with the real estate on the premises was confiscated and allocated to Grand Vizier Kemankes Mustafa Pasha. It changed ownership several times after Mustafa Pasha's death.
Construction of the first yalis in this district, which was called `Emirgan' by the late-19th century, began when Sultan AbdulHamid I opened up the region to settlement in 1778. While the sultan commissioned the construction of a mosque in 1781, a yali with a harem section was also built here during the same period. The yali is mentioned in the Imperial Guard records as the Tevzi Beyzade Mehmed Bey Yali'. The yali changed owners several times after the Imperial Treasury Secretary Fevzi Beyzade Mehmed Bey; it eventually ended up in the possession of Aga Huseyin Pasha, who hosted the Serbian Despot Milos here during his visit to Istanbul. By the late-18th century, we see that the yali of Mecca. Sheriff Abdullah Pasha was acquired from the heirs of Huseyin Pasha. It was rebuilt as a double structure yali between 1850-60. An iftariye hall and a bendegan chamber were added in the early-20th century to the structure, which is known as the Serifler Yale as it was used for many years by the Serif Family. Entrance into the reception hall is via through a marble-clad, well- illuminated corridor, the end of which once featured a covered wooden bridge-corridor that connected to the harem section.
To the right is a greenhouse door that opens into the rear garden. A triple marble step-way to the left of the corridor leads into a rectangle-shaped hall. Called the Gold-leaf Room, a small room featuring glitzy gold- and silver-leaf furnishings is found adjacent to a striking marble fountain situated to the left of the hall, with the dining room to the right. Behind this room is a large hall overlooking the sea. The hall's central bay window is propped up over a base wall that sits directly over the shore. Three wide, enclosed balconies surrounding the hall with the bay window sit atop seven fan braces. An attractive waterspout pool is found in the center of this marble-clad hall. The decorations of the red ceiling around the waterspout are striking. A flowery Venetian chandelier composed of ivy and roses crafted from chromatic glass once hung from the middle of the ceiling. There was also a crystal candelabra ornamenting the room next to the waterspout. There is another marble-clad hall adjacent to the waterspout hall. The woodcarving embellishments on the walls and ceiling in this hall are outstanding. The most interesting feature in the hall is the door crafted in the shape of a large closet cover. With the door closed, it looks like a wall with a hearth in the center and a large closet on either side.
Situated within the mansion's garden which has a boathouse identified with a twin-eye belt, the Bendegan building was rebuilt during a restoration which occurred in 1972. Donated to the Treasury ill 1967, the yali was later transferred to the Ministry of Culture in 1971. The yali was recently allocated to a state-run institution.
