Yalı

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House or mansion built right on the waterside

title: "Yalı" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ottoman-architecture", "turkish-words-and-phrases", "buildings-and-structures-in-istanbul"] description: "House or mansion built right on the waterside" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalı" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary House or mansion built right on the waterside ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Wooden_building_on_the_Bosphorus.jpg" caption="Yeniköy]] on the European coast of the [[Bosphorus]] strait, designed by [[Alexandre Vallaury]]."] ::

A yalı (, from Greek γιαλή yialí (mod. γιαλός yialós), literally "seashore, beach") is a house or mansion built right on the waterside (almost exclusively seaside, particularly on the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul) and usually built with an architectural concept that takes into account the characteristics of the coastal location. A family who owned a waterside residence would spend some time in this usually secondary residence located at the sea shore, as opposed to the konak ("mansion", aside from the term's use to refer to buildings with administrative functions) or the köşk ("pavilion", often serving a determined practical purpose, such as hunting, or implying a temporary nature). Thus, going to the "yalı" acquired the sense of both going to the seaside and to the house situated there. In its contemporary sense, the term "yalı" is used primarily to denote those 620 waterside residences constructed during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries and sprinkled along the Bosphorus in Istanbul. As such, they are one of the area's landmarks.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Yağlıkçı_Hacı_Reşit_Bey_and_Prenses_Rukiye_Yalısı_on_the_Bosphorus,_Istanbul,_Turkey_001.jpg" caption="''Yağlıkçı Hacı Reşit Bey Yalısı'' and ''Prenses Rukiye Yalısı'' in [[Kanlıca]], along the [[Anatolia]]n shores of the [[Bosphorus]]."] ::

Finely worked wood was the predominant construction material chosen for yalıs, as it was for the large majority of traditional Turkish houses. Successive restorations often caused the wooden parts of the overall structure to be gradually reduced, but wood nevertheless remains the prominent and identifying material of historic yalıs. It is not uncommon for the most recently restored mansions to employ wood principally for external decoration purposes.

The oldest surviving yalı is the one built by the grand vizier Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha (of the highly influent Köprülü family) in 1699 at the Kanlıca neighbourhood (within Beykoz district), on the Asiatic shores of the Bosphorus. From this yalı, the hall of audience (divanhane) and its immediate annexes have survived. On the opposite European shores, the oldest to remain is the "Şerifler Yalısı" in the Emirgan neighbourhood (within Sarıyer district), which was built in 1780 but bears the name of a later owner. The most expensive yalı is "Erbilgin Yalısı" located in Yeniköy, Istanbul. In 2007, Forbes magazine listed "Erbilgin Yalısı" as the fifth most expensive house in the world with a price tag of $100 million.

Cornucopia, a magazine about the arts, culture and history of Turkey, has a regular feature on the Bosphorus yalıs, their architecture and their interiors. Notable inclusions have been the Yalı of Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha, the Yalı of Ethem Pertev, the Yalı of Saffet Pasha, and the Yalı of Zeki Pasha.

Image gallery

File:Istanbul - Yeniköy.JPG|Yeniköy, on the Bosphorus. File:Istanbul img 4941.jpg|Ottoman era waterfront houses (yalı) on the Bosphorus. File:36, Bosforo-ko yali gehiago ferrytik.jpg|Ottoman era waterfront houses (yalı) on the Bosphorus. File:Yalı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus, Turkey 001.jpg|Ottoman era waterfront houses (yalı) on the Bosphorus. File:Istanbul Bosphorus 04 (7697805260).jpg|Ottoman era waterfront houses (yalı) on the Bosphorus. File:قصر نور و مهند.JPG|Ottoman era waterfront house (yalı) on the Bosphorus. File:Elbiseci Ahmet Bey Yalısı and Esre Umur Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus, Turkey 001.jpg|Elbiseci Ahmet Bey Yalısı and Esra Umur Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. File:Elbiseci Ahmet Bey Yalısı and Esre-Esra Umur Yalısı.jpg|Esra Umur Yalısı and Necati Bey Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. File:Haci Ahmet Bey Yali on Bosphorus, Kanlica, Turkey.JPG|Hacı Ahmet Bey Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. File:Sadrazam Kadri Pasha Yalısı in Kanlıca, Turkey 001.jpg|Sadrazam Kadri Paşa Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. File:Yağcı Hacı Şefik Bey Yalısı on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey 001.jpg|Yağcı Hacı Şefik Bey Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. File:Zarif Mustafa Paşa Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus, Turkey 002.jpg|Zarif Mustafa Paşa Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. File:Zarif Mustafa Paşa Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus, Turkey 001.jpg|Zarif Mustafa Paşa Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. File:Hekimbaşı Salih Efendi Yalısı on the Bosphorus, Turkey001.jpg|Hekimbaşı Salih Efendi Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus, before being damaged in 2018 File:Saffet Paşa Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus, Turkey 001.JPG|Saffet Paşa Yalısı in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. File:Ahmet Rasim Paşa Yalısı (A'ija Hotel) on the Bosphorus, Turkey 001.jpg|Yalı of Ahmet Rasim Pasha in Kanlıca on the Bosphorus. Kandilli_Pier.jpg|Kandilli, on the Bosphorus. File:Kanlica.JPG|Kanlıca, on the Bosphorus. File:Âli Pasa Yalısı (Hidiva Sarayı) in Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey 001.jpg|Yalı of Âli Pasha (currently the Egyptian Consulate) in Bebek on the Bosphorus. File:Ostrorog.jpg|Yalı of Count Ostrorog on the Bosphorus. File:İstanbul - Kıbrıslı Yalısı 0994.JPG|Yalı of Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha in Kandilli on the Bosphorus. File:Edibefendi.jpg|Edib Efendi Yalısı in Kandilli on the Bosphorus. File:Marko Paşa Köşkü, İstanbul, Turkey.jpg|A yalı in Anadolu Kavağı on the Bosphorus. DikranyanEfendiYalisi.jpg|Yalı on the European side File:Arnavutköy quarter of Istanbul on the Bosphorus, Turkey 002.jpg|Arnavutköy, on the Bosphorus.

References

"Yalı". Nişanyan Sözlük.
Gall, Carlotta. (31 October 2019). "Otomoman palaces on the Bosphorus". The New York Times.
"In Pictures: World's Most Expensive Homes".
"Cornucopia Magazine : Welcome to Cornucopia".
"Cornucopia Magazine : A Turkish Summer".
"Cornucopia Magazine : A Beauty on the Bosphorus".
"Cornucopia Magazine : The Abstract Heart".
"Cornucopia Magazine : The Republic".
"Ship Hits Historic Mansion on Istanbul's Bosporus Strait". VOA.

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