Perili Köşk (originally known as the Yusuf Ziya Pasha Mansion and currently housing the headquarters of Borusan Holding and the Borusan Contemporary

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

) is a historical monument at the

Rumelihisarı Rumelihisarı (also known as Rumelian Fortress and Roumeli Hissar Fortress) or Boğazkesen Fortress (literally 'strait-cutter fortress') is a medieval Ottoman Empire, Ottoman fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey, on a series of hills on the Europ ...

neighbourhood of the

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 177 km2 and its population is 350,454 (2022). It is on the northeastern part of Istanbul's European side. Sarıyer al ...

district in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Built in 1911, the castle-like red brick mansion with stained glass windows is located close to the

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge ("Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Bridge"; , abbreviated as ''F.S.M. Köprüsü''), also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: ''Boğaziçi'') ...

, on the European shore of the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

. The building has 9 floors above ground level and has a

gross floor area In architecture, construction, and real estate, floor area, floor space, or floorspace is the area (measured in square metres or square feet) taken up by a building or part of it. The ways of defining "floor area" depend on what factors of the bui ...

of around . The popular nickname of the mansion, ''Perili Köşk'' (meaning the "Haunted Mansion" in Turkish) refers to its construction remaining partially unfinished for a long period (its second and third floors remained empty for decades.)Homepage of "Borusan Contemporary" fine arts museum at Perili Köşk
The building's exterior appearance was carefully restored and completed in line with the original design between 1995 and 2000 by architect Hakan Kıran, who also renovated its interior. ''Perili Köşk'' is also the title of a story by the Turkish author

Ömer Seyfettin Ömer Seyfettin (11 March 1884, Gönen – 6 March 1920, Istanbul), was a Turkish writer from the late 19th to early 20th century, considered to be one of the greatest modern Turkish authors. His work is much praised for simplifying the Turkish ...

History

The mansion was built by Ottoman ambassador to the United States Yusuf Ziya Pasha, a member of the Ottoman government, for his family's accommodation. The construction of the building started in the early 1910s but stopped when the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

entered the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as craftsmen joined the armed forces. Yusuf Ziya Pasha's second wife Nebiye Hanım and her three daughters from her first husband lived in the mansion until 1926. After the death of Yusuf Ziya Pasha, the family continued to own the mansion until the early 1990s.

Renovation

The mansion was bought in 1993 by philanthropist businessman Basri Erdoğan. In 1995, the renovation of the building started. Realized by architect Hakan Kıran, the renovation work took about five years and was completed in 2000. The general outlook and facade of the building were kept loyal to the original design and the mansion was carefully restored with the precise materials, such as the

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

s which were imported from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The resale value of Perili Köşk was rated at 40 million USD by

Century 21 Real Estate Century 21 Real Estate LLC is an American real estate agent franchise company founded in 1971. The system consists of approximately 14,000 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 86 countries and territories worldwide with ...

in 2003.

Office building and fine arts museum

The inner space of the building was modernised to be used as offices. In May 2002 Borusan Holding, a Turkish industrial conglomerate, took a 25-year lease on the property which it uses as its headquarters. Staff moved into the building on 16 February 2007, and an official opening ceremony was held on 27 June 2007. In September 2011 Borusan opened ''Borusan Contemporary'', an

at Perili Köşk.Borusan Contemporary: Past Exhibitions

References

External links

Homepage of "Borusan Contemporary" fine arts museum at Perili Köşk
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perili Kosk Buildings and structures in Istanbul Redevelopment projects in Istanbul Mansions in Turkey Buildings and structures completed in 1911 Bosphorus Sarıyer