Before the late 1600s, only fishing villages and distant monasteries existed on the beautiful shores of the Bosporus. Once the Ottomans noticed the natural beauty, every minister of state, pasha, and dignitary coveted a luxurious home at the water’s edge. In Orta Keui and along the shore further upstream, the extended Imperial Family and other Ottoman elite built stately waterside mansions called Yalis, from the greek “yialí” meaning beach.
The style of each yali varies by the time it was built and the luxury its owner could afford, but all remain excellent examples of Ottoman architecture. Most yalis are made of wood with wings flowing out of the main hall on either side, often a seraglio wing for the women and selamlik wing for the men of the household. Large windows open up every external wall to magnificent views of the Bosporus. Elaborate molding and intricate arabesques painted on the ceiling ensure a yali’s luxurious appointment inside matches its exterior. Rooms extend outward from upper floors over the water, allowing their natural cooling by sea breezes. Small outlying buildings, such as boathouses, kitchens, and laundries take care of the household's practical concerns.
The color of paint on a yali’s exterior declares it’s owners place in Ottoman society. A yali painted in white, yellow, or other bright colors belongs to a devoted Nithamiyeen. Members of the Turkish government were privileged by law to paint their yalis red-hued colors, such as rose or burgundy. Foreigners, such as Aluminates or Jews, must paint their yalis grey.
As the Ottoman economy rises and falls, the ownership of these mansions change. A yali might remain the property of one great family for centuries, only to be bought by a newly enriched pasha or a foreign diplomat.
Notable Yalis along the Bopserous include:
-Esme Sultan, the Aunt of Sultan Abdulmejid lived in a beautiful Yali just northwest of Orta Keui. until her death in 1848. Her home was brightly decored with great brass doors and painted yellow. While she lived, musicians played all hours of the day in her yali, their sound carried across the water. Boats filled with passengers from all nations and levels of society clogged up the Bosperous for the nightly concerts. Faint music can still be heard on quiet evenings from the water.
Her widowed brother-in-law the Kapitan-I Derya in charge of the Ottoman navy, Damat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha, still lives in the yali next door.
-Much further up the Bosporus, on the Asian shore, lives the influential diplomat and recently dismissed Grand Vizier, Mustafa Resid Pasha. His yali overshadows most others with its size and stately neoclassical grace. The pasha bought the yali from Kani Bey, the sultans coffee supplier, and furnished his home with every possible amenity. A boathouse on the bank holds the pasha’s caiques to take him quickly into Constantinople. Inside, floral decor mixes with gold leaf and gilded ornamentation interspersed with the blue light of the Bopserous pouring through windows. The Turkish women are not allowed to swim in public, so the women of the Pasha’s seraglio swim in a large indoor swimming pool built of marble.
A holy spring flows in the garden, a remainder of the ruins from a Byzantine monastery under the yali’s foundation.
- Four miles from Orta Keui, Yilanli Yali rises up from the steeply sloping banks of Bebek. It’s construction dates back to the late 1700s, but it’s beautiful reddish-brown wood and stone exterior and lush sloped gardens still catches the eye.
Its unusual name means “snake yali” from a humorous anecdote about Sultan Abdulmejid’s father, Sultan Mahmud II. While boating up the Bosporus, Sultan Mahmud noticed the beautiful yali and told a nearby adviser he wished to buy it, but the advisor to which he spoke desired the yali as well. Knowing his sultan’s fear of snakes, the advisor claimed the rocks of the cliff under the beautiful yali was infested with the reptiles and they frequently entered the mansion. Thus discouraged, the sultan lost interest in the property and his advisor bought the yali.
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