Sokullu Mansion
History
The Mansion located in Acıbadem district of Istanbul was designed and built in late 19th century by Architect Vedat Tek, the Palace chief Architect of the time, for Sultan Mehmet the 5th.
The main mansion owners Sultan Mehmed V (Rashad), in the first years of his enthronement in 1909 bought a land at Haydarpasa Ibrahim Agha meadow which has a very large garden by purchasing the available 320,000 m² to spend the summer with their wives and he ordered to build Harem and Selamlik building here.
Meanwhile, Chief Architect Vedad was assigned the palace of architecture. Construction completed between the years 1910-12.
Unfortunately, his wifes refused to disregard this summer resort, however Sultan Reshad become angry to this situation and he donated the building with all the land to eldest son of him Şehzade Dr. Ziyaeddin .
The first architect of his period with an academic training, Architect Vedat was also the designer of other significant buildings of the period like the first Turkish National Assembly building and Ankara Palace Hotel in Ankara and the Great Post Office Building of Istanbul.
The mansion was used as his summer residence around 1910 by the crown prince Şehzade Ziyaeddin Efendi, the son of Sultan Mehmet the 5th. After it was bought by
Sokullu Abdülkerim Paşa the house was known as the Sokullu Mansion.
In recent years for a short while the building was used by a private school, in 1992 the Yapı Merkezi bought the building. Then the survey, restitution and the restoration project for the mansion was designed.
The restoration works are ongoing in accordance with the approved project for the building, registered in Grade I category.
The ground floor of the four-storey mansion is masonry construction and the upper floors are timber frame finished with weatherboarding on outer faces and lath and plaster on inner ones. The total floor area of the building is 2,000 m2