METU JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, cilt.31, ss.97-117, 2014 (AHCI)
NEW EVALUATIONS IN TERMS OF ART HISTORY ABOUT THE STATUS OF AN 18TH CENTURY MANSION IN BOSPHORUS
Located at Bebek Quarter, Yoğurtçu Zülfü Street, map section 67, city block 529 and land plot 15, the Kavafyan Mansion, which one of the pioneering building of the 18th century Bosphorus inner-side architectural culture, has the distinction of surviving the oldest and the only example of traditional Turkish house in Istanbul. In addition to the traditional elements of the venue setup, it is also highly significant in terms of featuring the first examples of mural paintings with landscape that emerged alongside Westernization begun with Sultan Ahmed III. Furthermore, heretofore unrealized 18th Century Dutch Tiles found in various places of which the similar ones are found at the Topkapi Palace Harem Chambers increase the significance of the building. This matchless mansion has a great value; not only in terms of the Art and Archirectural history; but as well as in terms of the Turkish cultural history. In spite of its registeration as “A cultural asset that is required to be preserved as is” in 1973 and classification “as a historical artefact at the first group” in 1998 by the Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection Board, today it is facing the danger of extinction due to the certain legal issues. This study intended to an extensive evaluation regarding all the features additional with the new findings of Kavafyan Mansion based on its current status in 2013 in the context of art history .