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SAIT HALIM PASA (1863-1921)
Sait Halim Pasa was the eldest of Prince Abdulhalim Pasa' four sons and
the grandson of Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Pasa, Governor of Egypt. Born in
Cairo in 1863, his early schooling was in the form of private tutelage where
he was taught Arabic, Persian, English and French. He later studied
political science for five years in Switzerland.
In 1888 he was appointed Provincial Governor and became a member of the State Council
being awarded the Mecidi decoration. In 1889 he received the 2nd nd order and in 1892 the
1st order of the Ottoman Empire. In 1899 he received the special Mecidi decoration and in
1900 was appointed to the post of Governor General of the European provinces.
He was removed from his post as State Council member in 1908. Meanwhile he was
appointed mayor of Yeniköy in the municipal elections and later elected vice-president of the
General Municipality Corporation. In 1908 Sait Halim Pasa was elected to the Senate and was
appointed as president of the State Council in 1912.
Sait Halim Pasa resigned from the presidency of the State Council in 1912 and elected post of
general of the Committee of Union and Progress. During the Grand Vizierate of Mahmut
Şevket Pasa he was elected president of the State Council for the second time and appointed
as the Minister of Foreign affairs in the following three days. After Mahmut Sevket Pasa's
death he became the official representative of the Grand Vizier with the rank of Vizier.
In September 1913 by a treaty signed between the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, Edirne was
restored to the Ottomans with the Maritza River was established as the border. For his
achievement in the conclusion of the this treaty an order of special privilege was bestowed
upon Sait Halim Pasa by the Sultan.
In 1914 the Ottoman Empire joined the First World War. The Ottoman-German alliance
treaty was signed in Sait Halim Pasha’s mansion with the German Envoy Baron
Wangenheim.
In March 1919, Sait Halim Pasa was arrested together with several members of the
government and of the parliament. Following his release Sait Halim Pasa went to Rome,
where, on Tuesday, 6 December 1921 he was assassinated by an armed Armenian agent as he
stepped out of his car to enter his house. His corpse was brought to Istanbul and on 30
December 1921 and was taken from his mansion at Yenikoy to be buried in gardens of the
Sultan Mahmut Mausoleum.
HISTORY OF THE SAIT HALIM PASA MANSION
The first owners of the mansion are believed to be the Duzogullari Family. The Aristarhis
Family who acquired the mansion from the Duzogulları demolished it to construct a
completely new one around 1863.
Abdulhalim Pasa bought the mansion, which was considered to be a wreck and not big
enough to suit Egyptian aristocratic taste, from the Aristarhis Family and instructed architect
Petraki Adamandidis of Canakkale to rebuild it. After Abdulhalim Pasa's death in 1890 the
property was inherited by his nine sons. Sait Halim Pasa, gathering all shares from his
brothers came into the sole ownership of the mansion in 1894.
In 1968, the mansion was purchased by Turizm Bankası (Tourism Bank) and converted into a
casino serving only foreign guests. Due to safety conditions such as fire, the operation of the
mansion was handed over to Hilton. Although some minor alterations were made in 1974, a
major renovation was held during the years 1980-1984 by TAÇ Foundation under the
instruction of Turizm Bankası.
Turizm Bankası merged with Türkiye Kalkınma Bankası (Turkey Development Bank) thus
making the mansion the property of Türkiye Kalkınma Bankası. The garden was used as a
restaurant during the summer and the mansion itself partially as a museum. Later on the
mansion became the summer residence of the Prime Ministry and was used for government
events and meetings.
The mansion underwent a fire in 1995 and its restoration as “Official Guest House of the
Prime Ministry” was completed in 2002. The restoration was done according to the original
architectural style of the mansion in the1890's. The mansion has not been in use since the
restoration and its operation has been turned over to Göçtur Tourism in 2004.
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF THE MANSION
The structural and decorative characteristics of the building are typical innovations of its time,
with the building set back off the waterfront by a jetty and the façade and windows typically
neo-classical (empire-style). The mansion's plan includes a central grand hall-sofa-with an
alcove overlooking the seafront with a stairway on the opposite side.
There are two gates leading to the Selamlık (Men’s quarters) and Harem (Ladies' Quarters)
from the quay. There are two lion statues in front of the Selamlık gate which is why the
mansion is also referred to as the “Mansion of the Lions” by the public. According to Nubar
Horanyan of Yeniköy, the female lion was a gift from Italy for Sait Halim Pasa's first
promotion and the male lion a gift from Germany for his second promotion.
Towards the northern side of the Harem garden, there was a Bathing House used by the
residents for swimming. The enclosed bridge built between the mansion and the estate on the
slopes behind was demolished like all other annexes which were expropriated during the
widening of the road in 1958. There was also a boathouse in the garden of the men's quarters
which does not exist any longer.
One might describe the late period of Bosphorus mansions and pavilions as “empire-baroque”
both in terms of their architecture and their decoration. It was a stylistic trend which took hold
during the reign of Abdulmecit (1839-1861), weakening towards the reigns of Abdulaziz and
Abdulhamit II, when an eclectic amalgam of western styles started to take over towards the
end of the 19th century.
The building recessed from the waterfront without bay-windows and the empire style of the
façade and windows are all examples of the new style of that era.
The mansion is decorated in typical empire style, with traces of eclecticism alternating and
sometimes combined. The Cubic style in the furniture and exaggerated curves in the
decoration were rare between 1800 and 1830. Gilded wood disappeared, although mahogany
with bronze plaque appliqué became popular. Walls were divided into panels with raised
bands, with occasional pilasters. Egg and dart and garland friezes decorated the cornice and
the ceilings were framed with a band of decoration with a similar circular band in the center.
This interior design is seen throughout the mansion, with the single exception of the ground
floor reception room which carries the Egyptian-Arabian influence in decoration.
HALLS OF THE MANSION
THE HAREM : The stairway, which occupies part of both stories, is totally empire in style,
the walls divided up into panels framed with stucco relief bands. The tips of the stucco relief
on the panel frames are gilded. The same kind of stucco profile frames the ceiling and
surrounds a central medallion, which together with the rest of the ceiling is decorated with
motifs in the empire and eclectic styles. We may call this decorative approach “high empire
under the influence of Louis XVI”. The columns betray typical empire motifs on the capital
and base while the shaft is not fluted. The columns of the stairway and the frame of the midstairway mirror are original and well preserved.
THE HUNTING HALL (DINING HALL) : The second
most important room in the mansion is the Hunting Hall,
which was named after the decorations on the walls
depicting scenes of hunting, a deep interest of Sait Halim
Pasa. The room, being the most highly decorated part of the
mansion, served as a dining hall The walls are paneled, with
pilasters decorated in the empire-style flanking each panel.
The ceiling is framed with a highly decorated empire style
frieze with a similarly decorative central medallion, divided into twelve segments, each
embellished with empire motifs. Decoration throughout the hall is gilded.
SELAMLIK HALL (CEREMONIAL HALL) : Another
one of the most important halls of the mansion is the
Ceremonial Hall. The room faces the entrance to the men's
quarters behind the stairway. Although the columns and
beams of the room are highly decorated, one can hardly call
it the empire style, except for the fine beam profiles of the
ceiling and the wide band of panels separating the walls.
Arabic inscriptions in the medallions on the friezes framing the ceiling, the general decoration
of the ceiling and the doors give the room the air of an Egyptian salon.
STUDY-RECEPTION-ANTECHAMBER : The study room was decorated in empireeclectic mode, with a central ceiling rectangular panel of the same style with motifs in each
corner. A decorated medallion may be seen within the panel. Narrow wooden strips frame the
wall panels which are covered with embossed wall paper.
The central of the three rooms facing the sea is the Pasa's reception room. The four double
doors are lacquered wood inlaid intricately with mother of pearl and ivory. Both the
decoration and the contents of the room suggest that an Egyptian theme was intended.
The third room, the nearest one to the men's quarters was used as the guests antechamber.
THE GRAND HALL :
The hall has a ceiling which is baroque in spirit. The walls are
divided into panels framed with gilded stucco relief with
inscriptions on them.
JAPANESE HALL :Though the room was initially decorated in the
Spanish style, the name was later changed due to all the gifts presented
by the Japanese Empire.
GOLDEN HALL : The room was named as the Golden Hall because
all original furnishings and decorations were made in gold.
VENETIAN HALL : All decorations and furnishings brought from
Venice, the room was referred to as the Venetian Hall.
HAMAM (TURKISH BATH) : The stained glass at the entrance of the Hamam have been
preserved until today. The frames which were burned during the fire
were replaced and the glass was then placed according to its original
style.