The Afif Ahmed Paşa Yalısı (also known as the Muhayyeş Yalısı or Kemal Uzan Yalısı) is a unique Ottoman mansion built in the late 19th century between the İstinye-Yeniköy neighborhoods on the European shore of the Bosphorus in Istanbul.
Recognizable Feature:
This 4 story white yalı is immediately recognizable if you look out for the 2 onion-shaped domes on top of the 2 tallest towers. Surrounded by lush green gardens and tall trees to the rear and with the seas of the Bosphorus lapping at its front patio.
History:
The Afif Ahmed Paşa Yalısı was built in 1900-1910 by a famous architect of the time, Alexandre Vallaury, for its owner Afif Ahmed Pasha.
Ahmed Pasha was the head of the state’s food affairs and husband to Refia Sultan, an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Sultan Abdulmejid I.
The mansion was later bought by Mizbah Muhayyeş, the former owner of the Pera Palas Hotel. Subsequently it was owned by the Uzan family and now its current owner, Suzan Sabancı Dinçer.
Architecture:
Set over a total of 4 floors + a floor in the roof, the Afif Ahmed Paşa Mansion has a ground floor, two mezzanine floors and another single floor. The entrance is via stairs from the right and left.
The design of the roof in particular stands out, adorned with multiple towers and topped with elegant onion-shaped domes.
A synthesis of eastern and western architecture, the Afif Ahmed Paşa Yalısı mansion is a very unique and beautiful mansion on Istanbul’s Bosphorus.
Today it is privately owned.
