Levantine mansions of Izmir
Encyclopedia
Levantine mansions of Izmir refer to about thirty stately residences, dating principally from the 19th century and of which a significant number remain intact to this day, by being restored and continuing to be used and visited, in İzmir
, Turkey
. These residences differ from the traditional Ottoman
mansions (konak) in the city by a number of features, as well as by their history. The families who owned them, the notable visitors they hosted in these houses, their testimonial destinies through the historic events of the city, make them an important part of İzmir's common heritage.
Levantine mansions are mostly situated in the modern-day metropolitan districts of Buca
and Bornova
, which are located slightly inland, and which were the favoured residential quarters for the city's richer classes of Western
origins or, in the case of a few built more recently, in the coastal district of Karşıyaka
.
" was used more frequently, as an imprecise geographical notion, in reference to the region considered to be starting from the easternmost shores of the Mediterranean Sea
, roughly covering present-day Syria
, the historic community generally known under the denomination of the "Levantines" gained prominence principally in Turkey
, Egypt
and Lebanon
. The term became current in English language
as of the 16th century, along with the first merchant adventurers in the region and the Levant Company
. It was applied primarily, but not exclusively, to people of Venetian
, Genoese
, French
, or other Mediterranean origin who lived in Turkey
and its former provinces since the Ottoman
period. During the 19th century and early 20th century, Germans
, Austrians
, Russians
, as well as people who were originally issued from the Christian
or Jewish Ottoman minorities or even Turks
, also followed suit, as long as they could introduce themselves to the tightly knit community. And although they usually shunned the term, it could be applied to settlers of British
or American
background as well, in function of their adoption of the elusive Levantine culture and lifestyle or integration into the local economy and social life. Typical Levantines acted at the top of the hierarchy of class of intermediaries governing the relations of the Ottoman Empire with the outside world ; coming before, generally richer than, and individually collaborating and socially in competition with, respectively, Greeks, Armenians and Jews, all on the background of the decline of the Empire, in a regime characterized by the capitulations
and other privileges, foreign debt and outside intervention into politics.
Practically extinguished in the course of the political upheavals that shook Egypt and Lebanon in the 20th century, Levantine background and culture remains the most vivacious in Turkey, where it is considered one of the inherent elements of the overall social tissue. While many migrated back to Europe
, many others continue to live in İstanbul
(mostly in the districts of Beyoğlu
and Nişantaşı
) and İzmir
(mostly in the districts of Bornova
and Buca
). They characteristically preserve intense international ties.
to seek the cooler breeze of the slopes of the Mount Yamanlar on the immediate slopes of which the town of Bornova started out, at a distance of about five kilometers inland starting from the tip of the Gulf of İzmir
.
This move by the rich and by foreign representatives was actually at the origin of the growth of the town in the 19th century, which used to be a small forestry village till then. The residences these new settlers built at that time, and most of which have come to our day and saw restoration, carry the prestigious names of former owners as Whittall, Maltass, Peterson, Giraud, Edwards, Belhomme, Pandespanian. There is a small Catholic Church named the "Church of Santa Maria", also dating from the 19th century, in the main square of Bornova, as well as an Anglican-Episcopalian
chapel.
The "Grand House" in Bornova was that of the Whittall family of merchants, who originated in Worcestershire
, and of whom the first generation is attested to have come to Turkey in the first quarter of the 19th century. On a visit to İzmir, the sultan Abdülaziz
stayed in their house on 20 April 1863, as well as the Prince of Wales
(later King George V
) in 1886 for several days. Their mansion serves today as the rectorate building of Ege University
but is not closed to visitors who may drop by. Pandespanian mansion is managed by the same university as a restaurant-café, while the more discreet residences of Steinbuchel and Giraud played important roles in Turkey's power spheres. The day after the re-capture of İzmir by the Turkish army
, Mustafa Kemal Pasha stayed in the Steinbuchel mansion, owned in 1922 by the English Wood family. A descendant of the Giraud family, Caroline Giraud Koç is the spouse of Mustafa Koç, the president of Koç Holding
which is one of the largest family-owned industrial conglomerates in the world.
There are several other 19th century houses of note, such as the Paggy, Charnaud, Kanalaki, Barry and Maltass houses and the Well house. Maltass house is the residence of the mayor of İzmir, Aziz Kocaoğlu
. A special mention should be made for the Paterson house (built in 1859), half-restored and the other half in decay, and which commands a large park in the heart of Bornova.
consulate in İzmir moved there following the 1676 plague and the 1688 earthquake that seriously shook İzmir's core as an international trade center. Its rich Levantine residents who acquired the surrounding vineyards typically had Latin
backgrounds, as opposed to those who originally came from Britain
and who preferred Bornova. But in the case both of Bornova and of Buca, the concentration in terms of respective backgrounds was far from having an exclusive nature.
The most famous and imposing 19th century residence in Buca is that of the Forbes family
, although their exact relation to the present-day publishing empire remains intricate. Situated on the top of a hill, the mansion has an impressive appearance and view and is being very slowly restored. Buca municipality plans to coincide the restoration with the development of a vast park comprising seven artificial lakes in order to thematize the whole quarter coprising a dozen 19th century residences. A persisting rumor attributes the unusual curve traced in Buca by the İzmir
-Aydın
railway, completed in 1866 and crossing right in front of mansions, to the influence of the Forbes family, who would have wanted it closer to their residence for easier rides. But that accomplishment is disputed by the Rees and Baltazzi families who also left magnificent residences to Buca and who claim the curve to be of their own making. The Baltazzis are no other than the maternal family of Baroness Maria Vetsera, of Mayerling Incident
fame.
The three most important Levantine landmarks still existing in Karşıyaka
are the Alliotti, Van Der Zee and Löhner mansions. The first was built by a prominent family of Italian
origins in 1914 and was exchanged in the 1920s, when the family was moving to the then Italian
island of Rhodes
, with the property there belonging to Durmuş Yaşar, the founder of Yaşar Holding and a Dodecanese Turk
, who was moving in to İzmir from that island. The mansion is known today under Durmuş Yaşar's name and serves as a cultural center. The two others are recently restored, and the first floor of the Van Der Zee mansion has been put by the Municipality of Karşıyaka to the service of the public in the form of a café
(Eski Ev Café).
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. These residences differ from the traditional Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
mansions (konak) in the city by a number of features, as well as by their history. The families who owned them, the notable visitors they hosted in these houses, their testimonial destinies through the historic events of the city, make them an important part of İzmir's common heritage.
Levantine mansions are mostly situated in the modern-day metropolitan districts of Buca
Buca
Buca is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey. It is one of the main districts of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.Buca was one of the preferred settlement areas of İzmir's community of Levantines...
and Bornova
Bornova
Bornova is a metropolitan district of İzmir in İzmir Province in Turkey. It is the third largest district in İzmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98,6 per cent, with corresponding high levels of development in terms of industry and services...
, which are located slightly inland, and which were the favoured residential quarters for the city's richer classes of Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
origins or, in the case of a few built more recently, in the coastal district of Karşıyaka
Karsiyaka
Karşıyaka is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. It is part of the Greater Metropolitan Area of İzmir, in other words a metropolitan district, the second largest after Konak in terms of population, and it is almost entirely urbanized at the rate of 99,9 per cent, with corresponding high levels...
.
Origins
Although the term "LevantLevant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
" was used more frequently, as an imprecise geographical notion, in reference to the region considered to be starting from the easternmost shores of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, roughly covering present-day Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, the historic community generally known under the denomination of the "Levantines" gained prominence principally in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. The term became current in English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as of the 16th century, along with the first merchant adventurers in the region and the Levant Company
Levant Company
The Levant Company, or Turkey Company, was an English chartered company formed in 1581, to regulate English trade with Turkey and the Levant...
. It was applied primarily, but not exclusively, to people of Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, or other Mediterranean origin who lived in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and its former provinces since the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
period. During the 19th century and early 20th century, Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Austrians
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
, Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, as well as people who were originally issued from the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
or Jewish Ottoman minorities or even Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, also followed suit, as long as they could introduce themselves to the tightly knit community. And although they usually shunned the term, it could be applied to settlers of British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
or American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
background as well, in function of their adoption of the elusive Levantine culture and lifestyle or integration into the local economy and social life. Typical Levantines acted at the top of the hierarchy of class of intermediaries governing the relations of the Ottoman Empire with the outside world ; coming before, generally richer than, and individually collaborating and socially in competition with, respectively, Greeks, Armenians and Jews, all on the background of the decline of the Empire, in a regime characterized by the capitulations
Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire
Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire were contracts between the Ottoman Empire and European powers, particularly France. Turkish capitulations, or ahdnames, were generally bilateral acts whereby definite arrangements were entered into by each contracting party towards the other, not mere...
and other privileges, foreign debt and outside intervention into politics.
Practically extinguished in the course of the political upheavals that shook Egypt and Lebanon in the 20th century, Levantine background and culture remains the most vivacious in Turkey, where it is considered one of the inherent elements of the overall social tissue. While many migrated back to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, many others continue to live in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
(mostly in the districts of Beyoğlu
Beyoglu
Beyoğlu is a district located on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city by the Golden Horn...
and Nişantaşı
Nisantasi
Nişantaşı is a quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, comprising neighbourhoods like Teşvikiye, Osmanbey, Maçka and Pangaltı. It includes the stores of world famous brands and has many popular cafés, pubs, restaurants and night clubs. It is a part of the Şişli district...
) and İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
(mostly in the districts of Bornova
Bornova
Bornova is a metropolitan district of İzmir in İzmir Province in Turkey. It is the third largest district in İzmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98,6 per cent, with corresponding high levels of development in terms of industry and services...
and Buca
Buca
Buca is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey. It is one of the main districts of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.Buca was one of the preferred settlement areas of İzmir's community of Levantines...
). They characteristically preserve intense international ties.
Bornova
Bornova was favoured very early by European/Levantine merchants and foreign consuls who sought to flee the sometimes stagnantly hot summer weather in central İzmirIzmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
to seek the cooler breeze of the slopes of the Mount Yamanlar on the immediate slopes of which the town of Bornova started out, at a distance of about five kilometers inland starting from the tip of the Gulf of İzmir
Gulf of Izmir
The Gulf of İzmir , formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the peninsula of Karaburun and the mainland area of Foça...
.
This move by the rich and by foreign representatives was actually at the origin of the growth of the town in the 19th century, which used to be a small forestry village till then. The residences these new settlers built at that time, and most of which have come to our day and saw restoration, carry the prestigious names of former owners as Whittall, Maltass, Peterson, Giraud, Edwards, Belhomme, Pandespanian. There is a small Catholic Church named the "Church of Santa Maria", also dating from the 19th century, in the main square of Bornova, as well as an Anglican-Episcopalian
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
chapel.
| Levantine landmarks of Bornova | Explanations |
| Patterson House | Currently, only very partially restored |
| Edwards House ("Murad House", "Fairy's House") |
Restored for use as youth center by AE |
| Charlton Whittall House | Restored for use as AE Rectorate |
| Richard Whittall House | Awaiting restoration |
| Davy House | |
| Wilkinson House | Restored in 2008 for use by AE |
| Former English Club House ("Well House") |
Formerly part of Charlton Whittall Estate |
| Aliberti House | |
| Balliani House | |
| Bari House | Restored for use by AE |
| La Fontaine House | Restored for use by AE |
| Pierre Pagy House | |
| Belhomme House | Used as municipal library |
| Pandespanian House | |
| Steinbüchel House | |
| Tristramp House | |
| St. Mary's Magdalene Anglican Church | Used once a month to serve the diminished Anglican congregation of Bornova |
| Bornova Anglican Cemetery | Still a used cemetery with binding criteria concerning burial |
| Bornova Catholic Church | Used as the Catholic Church and dominates the central square |
The "Grand House" in Bornova was that of the Whittall family of merchants, who originated in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, and of whom the first generation is attested to have come to Turkey in the first quarter of the 19th century. On a visit to İzmir, the sultan Abdülaziz
Abdülâziz
Abdülaziz I or Abd Al-Aziz, His Imperial Majesty was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned between 25 June 1861 and 30 May 1876...
stayed in their house on 20 April 1863, as well as the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
(later King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
) in 1886 for several days. Their mansion serves today as the rectorate building of Ege University
Ege University
Ege University is a public university in İzmir, Turkey. It was founded in 1955 with the Faculties of Medicine and Faculty of Agriculture...
but is not closed to visitors who may drop by. Pandespanian mansion is managed by the same university as a restaurant-café, while the more discreet residences of Steinbuchel and Giraud played important roles in Turkey's power spheres. The day after the re-capture of İzmir by the Turkish army
Turkish Army
The Turkish Army or Turkish Land Forces is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire...
, Mustafa Kemal Pasha stayed in the Steinbuchel mansion, owned in 1922 by the English Wood family. A descendant of the Giraud family, Caroline Giraud Koç is the spouse of Mustafa Koç, the president of Koç Holding
Koç Holding
Koç Holding A.Ş. is the top industrial conglomeratein Turkey. The Koç family, one of Turkey's wealthiest families, controls the company with its headquarter in Nakkaştepe, Istanbul...
which is one of the largest family-owned industrial conglomerates in the world.
There are several other 19th century houses of note, such as the Paggy, Charnaud, Kanalaki, Barry and Maltass houses and the Well house. Maltass house is the residence of the mayor of İzmir, Aziz Kocaoğlu
Aziz Kocaoglu
Aziz Kocaoğlu is the mayor of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality , Turkey's third largest city.He was born in 1948 in Tokat in north-central Turkey. He graduated from the Economy School of İzmir's Ege University in 1973 and received a master's degree in management from İstanbul University in 1974...
. A special mention should be made for the Paterson house (built in 1859), half-restored and the other half in decay, and which commands a large park in the heart of Bornova.
Buca
Buca, situated slightly inland like Bornova, on the higher ground that commands the southern shores of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir, started to develop as of the end of the 17th century when the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
consulate in İzmir moved there following the 1676 plague and the 1688 earthquake that seriously shook İzmir's core as an international trade center. Its rich Levantine residents who acquired the surrounding vineyards typically had Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
backgrounds, as opposed to those who originally came from Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and who preferred Bornova. But in the case both of Bornova and of Buca, the concentration in terms of respective backgrounds was far from having an exclusive nature.
The most famous and imposing 19th century residence in Buca is that of the Forbes family
Forbes family
The Forbes family is a wealthy extended American family originating in Boston. The family's fortune originates from trading between North America and China in the 19th century plus other investments in the same period. The name descends from Scottish immigrants, and can be traced back to Sir John...
, although their exact relation to the present-day publishing empire remains intricate. Situated on the top of a hill, the mansion has an impressive appearance and view and is being very slowly restored. Buca municipality plans to coincide the restoration with the development of a vast park comprising seven artificial lakes in order to thematize the whole quarter coprising a dozen 19th century residences. A persisting rumor attributes the unusual curve traced in Buca by the İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
-Aydın
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
railway, completed in 1866 and crossing right in front of mansions, to the influence of the Forbes family, who would have wanted it closer to their residence for easier rides. But that accomplishment is disputed by the Rees and Baltazzi families who also left magnificent residences to Buca and who claim the curve to be of their own making. The Baltazzis are no other than the maternal family of Baroness Maria Vetsera, of Mayerling Incident
Mayerling Incident
The Mayerling Incident refers to the series of events leading to the apparent murder-suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his lover Baroness Mary Vetsera. Rudolf was the only son of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria and Empress Elisabeth, and heir to the throne of the combined...
fame.
Karşıyaka
| Levantine landmarks of Karşıyaka | Explanations |
| Löhner House | Restored in 2003 by the municipality |
| Van Der Zee House | Restored for use as a social venue |
| Penetti House | |
| Alliotti House | Restored by Yaşar Group of Companies |
| St. Helen Catholic Church | In use as Catholic Church |
| Club Petrococchino | Still a cosmopolitan café Café A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches... near the pier |
The three most important Levantine landmarks still existing in Karşıyaka
Karsiyaka
Karşıyaka is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. It is part of the Greater Metropolitan Area of İzmir, in other words a metropolitan district, the second largest after Konak in terms of population, and it is almost entirely urbanized at the rate of 99,9 per cent, with corresponding high levels...
are the Alliotti, Van Der Zee and Löhner mansions. The first was built by a prominent family of Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
origins in 1914 and was exchanged in the 1920s, when the family was moving to the then Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
island of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, with the property there belonging to Durmuş Yaşar, the founder of Yaşar Holding and a Dodecanese Turk
Turks of the Dodecanese
The Turks of the Dodecanese form a 5,000-strong community of ethnic Turks inhabiting the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes and Kos who were not affected by the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey since the islands were under the rule of the Kingdom of Italy at the time and who became...
, who was moving in to İzmir from that island. The mansion is known today under Durmuş Yaşar's name and serves as a cultural center. The two others are recently restored, and the first floor of the Van Der Zee mansion has been put by the Municipality of Karşıyaka to the service of the public in the form of a café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
(Eski Ev Café).