Restoring a Bosphorus <italic>Yalı</italic>: The Elusive Goal of Authenticity: Fid-Bau Portal

Restoring a Bosphorus Yalı: The Elusive Goal of Authenticity

Dinsmoor, Dorothy

On the Asian shore of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, the eighteenth-century Sa'dullah Pasha yalı (waterside summer residence) stands as an instructive example of the successful application of international standards for authenticity in restoration, achieved within a complex set of circumstances.¹ This yalı is one of a diminishing number of wooden shore residences of a specific type built by high Ottoman officials during the 200 years of the empire's decline. Designed expressly as the setting for spectacular festivals meant to impress the sultan and his European guests, these waterside houses occupy a unique place in architectural history. Their conservation is thus a matter for international concern.

This paper tracks the key restoration decisions that preserved the identity of form and expression inherent in the Sa'dullah Pasha yalı. The old building is one of the finest remaining examples in Istanbul of the Turkish interpretation of eighteenth-century baroque. Here we review the strategy of the Istanbul architect in charge of the restoration, including her approaches to protecting the yalı for the future and extending its life under the especially severe environmental stresses of the Bosphorus strait.