MANSION SUITE

The main room of the mansion is a wonderful example of eclectic Anatolian fresco ornamentation. Once offering hospitality to very important guests, this room now is a suite and its exceptional woodwork and frescoes dating from 1831 make it a veritable museum.

Frescoes always had a significant position in Turkish interiors; the examples in Mehmet Ali Ağa Mansion are particularly interesting in their successful synthesis of Baroque decorations that found their way into Turkey in the XIXth Century and traditional Ottoman miniaturist's detailed realism. The result is an irresistible beauty.

The figures adorning the walls and above the windows depict a specific time and style. These decorations are a true example of folk traditions and are obviously the work of an artist who may have never seen Istanbul but who has managed to depict it all the same, adding rare animals and vases full of roses, carnations and poppies. The ceiling decorations, still in original form, hold a significant place in Turkish ceiling art.The wheel of fortune in the centre (a universal symbol of eternity) has a wooden section in the middle that can rotate; a very rare example of such elements.

The names of the “seven sleepers”, regardless of any religious differences, carry this centuries-old legend with its mysticism, bearing witness to the life of the mansion and its inhabitants. This room, encircled with straw-filled, traditional divans, following its original shape, and embroidered covers and antique silver candelabra transports guests to its historic days of splendour. The windows open up to the rose garden, citrus grove and the courtyard; providing painting-like views.

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