Esma Sultan Mansion

Seen from the cool waters of the Bosphorus, Esma Sultan Mansion greets visitors in all its splendor. Its red brick façade glows like fire in the sunset, creating a historic silhouette. This mansion in the heart of Ortaköy brings together the past and the future in a single frame, with the 19th-century jewel Ortaköy Mosque on one side and the modern 15 July Martyrs Bridge on the other. The rhythmic sound of the waves and the whispers of the trees swaying on the shore add an unforgettable impact to the majestic presence of Esma Sultan Mansion against the backdrop of the Bosphorus. Even at first glance, one can feel that this building has a unique atmosphere, full of hidden memories and historical texture within its walls.

The History of Esma Sultan Mansion

Located on the Bosphorus coast in the Ortaköy district of Istanbul, Esma Sultan Mansion is named after Princess Esma Sultan (1873-1899), the daughter of Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz. The mansion was designed in a neoclassical style by the famous Ottoman architect Sarkis Balyan in the second half of the 19th century and was given to Esma Sultan as a wedding gift in 1889. However, according to Ottoman archival documents revealed in recent years, the mansion was actually commissioned in 1849 by Sarraf Maksud, a well-known merchant of Istanbul, and in 1900, the Ottoman treasury purchased the property from the heirs of this family and allocated it to Esma Sultan’s sons. After this date, the building began to be known as Esma Sultan Mansion.

After the young Esma Sultan passed away in 1899, the waterfront mansion was given by Sultan Abdul Hamid II to her sister Cemile Sultan; following her death, Fatma Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Murad V, became the new owner of the building. Remaining under the ownership of the Ottoman dynasty until 1915, the mansion changed hands during the final years of the empire. After World War I, starting from 1918, the building served as a Greek school, and in the 1920s it suffered a major fire. From 1922 onwards, it began to be used as a tobacco warehouse. Purchased in 1952 by businessman Saffet Baştımar, the mansion became popularly known as “Baştımar Mansion” during this period, as it was used as a carpentry workshop and furniture and coal storage.

In early 1975, while the owners were planning to put the building up for sale, a fire broke out, completely destroying the wooden sections of the mansion and leaving only the masonry (brick) exterior walls. The garden of Esma Sultan Mansion, which remained in a ruined state for a long time, continued to serve the people of Istanbul for a while in the 1980s through open-air concerts and events. Finally, at the beginning of the 1990s, the building was purchased by The Marmara Hotels Group and underwent an extensive restoration and renovation process. As part of the project led by architect Gökhan Avcıoğlu, the historic exterior walls of the mansion were preserved exactly, while a modern steel and glass structure was built inside. Reopening in 2001 as a multi-purpose event venue, Esma Sultan Mansion has since been used as a private venue hosting Istanbul’s most exclusive events, weddings, meetings, and cultural activities. With its exterior carrying traces of the past and its modern interior, the mansion blends historical heritage with contemporary spaces and continues to serve modern events today.

The Architecture of Esma Sultan Mansion

Esma Sultan Mansion is a magnificent structure, almost like a small seaside palace, that differs from traditional Bosphorus mansion architecture in terms of its size, material structure, and location. The mansion consists of two main floors and an attic, offering approximately 884 m² of usable space, while the surrounding garden spans a spacious 4,030 m². The exterior of the building is made of masonry (brick), and the interior structure is constructed using the traditional Bağdadi wooden technique. In terms of layout, a large living room with three wide windows facing the sea occupies a central position, and rooms open to this living room on both sides; a magnificent main staircase rises in the center, providing access to the upper floors. Emphasis is placed on symmetry and the neoclassical style in the facade design of the mansion. Decorative cornices separating the floors, rhythmically arranged rectangular windows, and triangular pediments rising above the projections give the structure an elegant movement. This Western-influenced architectural style, combined with its location on the Bosphorus shore, gives Esma Sultan Mansion both an elegant and a majestic character.

The restoration carried out after the fire in 1975 was approached with an architecturally innovative perspective. While the historic brick exterior walls were reinforced and preserved exactly as they were, without touching their inner surfaces, a new internal structure consisting of a lightweight steel frame and glass panels was placed inside them. Thanks to the striking combination of old and new, the mansion is able to offer modern and spacious interiors suitable for contemporary needs while preserving its exterior that reflects the spirit of the past. Today, the Esma Sultan Mansion features a bar and restaurant on the ground floor, and spacious event areas on the upper floors that can be used as conference or ballroom halls when needed. These contemporary interiors, surrounded by glass, are designed in harmony with the historic exterior and create an impressive atmosphere opening up to the Bosphorus view. As a result, the architecture of Esma Sultan Mansion is recognized as a successful restoration example that brings together historic fabric and modern design.

Discovering Esma Sultan Mansion by Yacht

Watching Esma Sultan Mansion from the deck of a yacht as the redness of the sunset hits the calm waters of the Bosphorus transports you to a magical moment where time seems to stand still. Under the row of lights that line the shore, the mansion’s red brick facade creates a mesmerizing reflection on the water. On a moonlit night, during a Istanbul yacht rental, this magnificent mansion appears before you in all its glory, accompanied by the rhythm of the waves and the gentle breeze. The scent of history rising from the walls of the mansion blends with the salty breeze of the Bosphorus, bringing the past and present together in that moment. The elegant minarets of Ortaköy Mosque and the lights of the 15 July Martyrs Bridge form a stunning backdrop that completes the night view along with the silhouette of Esma Sultan Mansion. As your yacht glides gently, it is impossible not to be captivated by the magic of this historic structure reflected on the water. Time seems to stand still as you pass by Esma Sultan Mansion; because every whisper from this mansion, located in the heart of the Bosphorus, tells a part of Istanbul's endless story.