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Tarabya is a scenic village on the European side of the Bosporus in Istanbul, Turkey. It’s located in the Sarıyer district.
Introduction to Tarabya
Tarabya was originally a Byzantine village known as Pharmakía (Φαρμακία) which means poison. According to tradition, the name changed to Therapiá (Θεραπειά) in the 12th century because Ecumenical Patriarch Cosmas II Atticus of Constantinople (d. 425) was uncomfortable with the settlement being associated with poison. A small Byzantine castle was located there. It was conquered in 1453 by the Ottomans and 40 soldiers were executed.
By the 17th century, the village was almost completely populated by Greeks with small Armenian and Muslim minorities. It became popular with the diplomatic community and wealthy merchants began to build mansion there in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The village remained mostly Greek until the middle of the 20th century. Most Greeks left or were forced to move after the 1955 Istanbul pogrom and worsening relations between Greece and Turkey in the 1960s and 70s. The Church of St. George was looted and burnt to the ground during the pogrom and the Greek school closed down in 1985.
Today, Tarabya is a popular destination for fish restaurants, especially on weekends and holidays. It has a lovely setting on the Bosporus and plenty of impressive mansions to admire.
Getting to Tarabya
The easiest way to get to Tarabya is to take the Metro on line M2 to the Hacıosman stop and hop on the 25A or 25Y bus, which both pass through the neighborhood. If you don’t mind sitting (or standing) on a bus for an extremely long time you could also take the 40 from Taksim Square; or the 40, 40B, or SRY-7 from Beşiktaş.
The Grand Tarabya
The most prominent landmark in the neighborhood is the Grand Tarabya, which stands proudly on the northeast corner of the harbor. Its history begins in 1909 when Ottoman Armenian businessman Mıgırdiç Tokatlıyan built the Tokatlıyan Hotel, which was designed by Ottoman French architect Alexandre Vallaury (1850-1921). It competed for business with the Sümer Palace Hotel until the latter closed down in 1950.
After World War II, the Tokatlıyan Hotel was purchased by İbrahim Gültan who renamed it Konak Hotel. He wanted to rebuild it but wasn’t able to obtain the necessary permits. The hotel burned down on April 19, 1954, with many believing Gültan deliberately set the fire. However, the manager at the time, Andon Sarıyan, put those rumors to rest when he confirmed the building had just undergone a major renovation.
A few years later in 1957, construction on the Grand Tarabya Hotel began. It was designed by architect Kadri Eroğan (1911-1997) and work was completed in 1965. The hotel opened in 1966 as the third 5-star hotel in Turkey.
The quality of service had declined by the 1990s and it was falling into disrepair. It closed for renovation in 2002 but lack of funds prevented the owners from carrying out the project. The hotel was sold to Bayraktar Holding on January 31, 2006, renovated and strengthened against earthquakes, and reopened to the public on February 12, 2013.
The 12-story hotel boasts 177 guest rooms, 70 suites, 1 presidential suite, and 30 residences, all with marina views. There are also restaurants, bars, a 4,500-square-meter spa, and a 1,280-square-meter ballroom. It’s the only hotel in the village.
Italian Summer Embassy
A few steps north of the hotel is the imposing Italian Summer Embassy (Italyan Sefareti). The original mansion was presented as a gift by Sultan Abdülhamid II to Princess Elena of Montenegro (1873-1952), who married King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy (1869-1947). It was a three-story Neoclassical building.
In 1905, the Italian Embassy commissioned Italian architect Raimondo D’Aranco (1857-1932) to design a new building. It was constructed between August 1905 and December 1906 and incorporated the kitchen, coal depot, and service buildings from the original mansion.
The four-story wooden mansion measures 27 x 20 meters and combines the Art Nouveau and Neo-Baroque styles. It has 53 rooms and a hall and served Italian diplomats until the 1960s. The building is in a dilapidated state and badly in need of restoration.
Ypsilanti Mansion
A few steps north is the Ypsilanti Mansion (İpsilanti Yalısı), which was built by the Ypsilantis, one of the most powerful Greek families from Fener, in the late 18th century during the reign of Selim III. It was designed by Antoine Ignace Melling (1763-1831). With their lives in danger in the Ottoman Empire, the entire family, including a young Alexandros Ypsilantis (1792-1828), fled to St. Petersburg, Russia.
In 1807, Selim III granted the mansion to French ambassador Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta to be used as a summer home. Most of it burned down in 1913. The surviving part was used Marmara University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences from 1989 to 2012. The building is also known as the French Summer Palace (Fransız Yazlık Sarayı).
Zariphis Mansion
On the south side of the harbor is the Zariphis Mansion (Zarifi Yalısı), which was built by prominent Ottoman Greek banker Georgios Zariphis (1810-1884), who was a close friend of Sultan Abdülhamid II. His descendants sold the mansion in 1954 and it was converted to a restaurant. It was damaged by fire in 1964 and 1974 and has lost its original appearance.
Church of Agia Paraskevi
Continuing along the harbor, hidden down Postacı Halil Street is the Greek Orthodox Church of Agia Paraskevi (Ἅγια Παρασκευὴ Θεραπείων / Aya Paraskevi Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi). It was built in 1860 by the Mavrogenis family next the Holy Spring of Agia Paraskevi (Aya Paraskevi Ayazması). The church has a vaulted ceiling with a dome. Several graves are in the courtyard, including Stavrakis Aristarchis (1834/36-1925) and members of the Mavrokordatos, Mavrogenis, and Baltatzis families.
German Summer Embassy
A short walk south of the harbor is the German Summer Embassy (Alman Sefareti). It was designed in 1882 by an architect named Cingria with the plans modified with Wilhelm Dörpfeld (1853-1940). Construction took place between 1885 and 1887. The Tarabya Pavilion (Tarabya Kasrı), built in 1828 by Sultan Mahmud II, once stood on the site but was demolished by Sultan Abdülmecid I. The land was gifted to the German Empire by Sultan Abdülhamid II in 1880.
The complex consists of a main building, ambassador’s residence, undersecretariat building, a chapel used by both the Catholic and Protestant churches, a fountain, and a cemetery. On October 13, 2011, it reopened as the Tarabya Cultural Academy, which promotes Turkish-German cultural exchange. The main building contains seven apartments for administrators and scholarship holders while the ambassador’s residence is used by the German Embassy and Consulate General as a Turkish-German Dialogue House for meetings and events. Other buildings have been restored and converted to reception halls, apartments, workshops, a kindergarten, and offices.
The cemetery contains the burials of Prussian military officer Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz (1843-1916) and 697 soldiers who perished during both World Wars. 20 of those graves belong to sailors who died in the German submarine UB-46, which was sunk by a mine in the Black Sea on December 7, 1916. There’s also a memorial designed by Georg Kolbe (1877-1947) honoring German soldiers killed at Gallipoli in 1915 during World War I.
On the upper garden terrace is a monument to General Helmuth von Moltke (1800-1891), who was invited by Mahmud II to consult on the modernization of the Ottoman Army from 1835 to 1839. A memorial for soldiers who died in World War II is also on the property.
Huber Mansion
A short walk south is the Huber Mansion (Huber Sahilhanesi), which was purchased in 1890 by Auguste Huber, a representative of the Krupp company, on land he purchased from the Armenian Tıngıroğlu and Düzoğlu families. Huber wanted to build it near the German Summer Embassy.
The original construction date is unknown, but the mansion was expanded in 1906 by Italian architect Raimondo D’Aronco (1857-1932). He added three three-story blocs connected to the original bloc by a bridge. The property sits in front of 64,000 square meters of forest with two small waterfalls. Other structures include a barn and a greenhouse. The mansion was used as a summer residence by Sultan Abdülhamid II.
Huber was forced to leave Constantinople following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. After his death, his family sold the mansion to former Finance Minister Necmeddin Molla (1875-1949). Kadria Hussein (1888-1955), the daughter of Hussein Kamel (1853-1917) the Sultan of Egypt from 1914 to 1917, purchased the property in 1922. She donated it to Notre Dame de Sion French High School in 1930 and in 1973 it was acquired by a private construction company. The 1973 sale was never approved by the Board of Monuments leading to its nationalization in 1985. Since then, the mansion has been used as a presidential residence and guesthouse for official visitors.
