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Cankurtaran is an area between Sultanahmet and the Marmara Sea in Istanbul. It’s full of boutique hotels and restaurants.
Sultanahmet Prison
First of all, one of the most interesting buildings in the area is the Four Seasons Hotel, which once served as the Sultanahmet Prison (Sultanahmet Cezaevi). It’s a four-story building enclosing a courtyard. Guard towers can still be seen around the perimeter.
The building was designed by Turkish architect Mimar Kemaleddin (1870-1927) in the Turkish neoclassical style and built between 1918 and 1919. It sat next to the courthouse in order to accommodate prisoners awaiting trial.
On January 25, 1969, inmates were transferred to the new Sağmalcılar Prison (Sağmalcılar Cezaevi) in Bayrampaşan and the jail was closed. It was used as a military prison during years of military rule. The building sat empty until it was redeveloped as a luxury hotel in 1992 and opened to the public in 1996.
Sultanahmet Prison mostly served as a prison for intellectual dissidents, writers, journalists, and artists. One of the famous inmates was Billy Hayes, the writer of Midnight Express. He spent a night there after being arrested for attempting to smuggle hashish out of Turkey on October 7, 1970. Others include Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet (1901–1963); Turkish novelist Orhan Kemal (1914–1970); and Turkish screenwriter Vedat Türkali (1919–2016).
I had planned to visit the terrace lounge for a drink but the hotel was closed for renovation the last time I walked by. I’ll try again on my next trip to Istanbul and update this page with more info and photos.
Akbıyık Street
The main street through Cankurtaran is Akbıyık Street, which contains the majority of the hotels and restaurants. It contains several refurbished Ottoman homes converted into tourist establishments.
Ishak Pasha Mosque
At the eastern end of Akbıyık Street is the Ishak Pasha Mosque (İshak Paşa Camii). It was built around 1485 by Grand Vizier İshak Pasha (d. 1487), who was either Albanian or Greek in origin and served both Mehmed II and Bayezid II. The interior of the mosque includes a beautiful wooden minbar.
Ishak Pasha Hamam
Across the street is the Ishak Pasha Hamam (İshak Paşa Hamamı). It was built around the same time as the mosque along with a school that has since been demolished. The hamam functioned as a single bath, which means men and women would use it at different times of the day. The structure was most recently used as a warehouse.
Akbıyık Mosque
At the other end of Akbıyık Street is the Akbıyık Mosque (Akbıyık Camii). It was built by Akbıyık Muhyiddin Efendi in 1461 and is one of the oldest mosques in Istanbul. Due to several repairs over the years, it has lost its original appearance.
House of Dede Efendi
Across the street is the House of Dede Efendi (Dede Efendi Evi). Hamamizade Ismail Dede Efendi (1778-1846) was a famous composer of Ottoman classical music. The house is now a museum about his life. Next to the house is an 18th century fountain built by Grand Vizier Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha (1689-1758).
