Çakırağa Mansion

The mansion, built in the 19th century by Şerif Ali Ağa, is a splendid example of Turkish house architecture, featuring an exterior with open-fronted sitting areas (sofas), a central hall (eyvan), and rooms arranged in pairs. The presence of eyvans between the rooms prevents them from being directly adjacent to each other. While the north, south, and west facades are enclosed by garden walls, the east facade remains open. The construction materials used include rubble stone and adobe up to the second-floor level.

The parts of the mansion’s rooms facing the garden are arranged in a symmetrical manner on each floor and have windows. The decorated surfaces of the building’s facades feature medallions within panels, naturalistic flowers within vases, garlands, and curtain-like folded fabric motifs, all executed in penwork. The most striking part of the mansion in terms of architectural arrangement and ornamentation is its upper floor, giving it a three-story appearance with the ground floor arranged as a stone platform directly opening to the garden.

Adjacent to the main entrance, there is a waiting area for the mansion’s employees, servant quarters on the southern side, and animal shelters and stables on the northern side, forming the lower level of the structure. In the upper floor of the mansion, there is a main room with a fireplace, adorned with an imaginary painting of Istanbul. The fact that some significant buildings of Istanbul are missing from the painting indicates its fictional nature. It is suggested that the artist might have depicted this scene based on descriptions, books, or postcards. In the summer room, there is a realistic painting of Izmir, unlike Istanbul, making it more documentary-like in nature.