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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Hidiv Kasri - Home of an Ottoman Pasha

İstanbul is living thru its typical autumn. After rainy days and floods, now we are experiencing sun and beautiful weathers. As we are not able to leave the house for a long time because of the puppy, we choose to spend couple ours at the sun in a lovely house and its gardens.


This house once belongs to one of the last Ottoman Pashas. Abbas Hilmi Pasha was the last Ottoman governor of Egypt and in 1907 he ordered this residence to Italian architect Delfo Seminati. It's style is art nouveau which was the fashion in those days. It's called Hidiv Kasrı. Pavilllion of the governor of Egypt.

It's a very nice and a relaxing place with its beautiful gardens. However there is not much inside the house to see as it is used as a restaurant.Although it is a lovely place in the Asian side of the city, we are rather reluctant to come here. The reason is the owner.. Since 1930 this place belongs to İstanbul Municipality. As some of you might know, Turkey is now ruled by an Islamic party who claims to be democrat and respecting the different lifestyles of its fellow citizens. I wanted to believe them but sometimes they are making it quite hard.

İstanbul's mayor is also belongs to this party and they are using every opportunity to impose their lifestyle. A good example is this place. They dont sell alcohol, but if you want to drink Coca Cola and Pepsi instead of a cold beer, all they can offer you is Cola Turca, a product of a company that is a heavy supporter of the party and if you want to read some of the daily newspapers, dont expect a wide variety. Only the newspapers supporting the government are available here.. As this attitude is also seen in other areas of the daily life where they can reach, I feel quite threatened with this intolarence.

16 comments:

  1. Your observations are thought-provoking. People outside the country do not see these things and only know the image Turkey presents to the outside world.

    Of course this is what happens in many countries and you never get to know a place until you live there for some time.

    And you don't really know your own country until you leave it for some time. That's when you get a better picture of its warts and failures. You need to see it from a distance to get a clearer view. Strange but true!

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  2. That is so interesting, I didn't realize any of that and I was in Turkey last year. I guess we were so enthralled in the ruins of Ephesus and the markets etc. that we just didn't know that much of the government. And we hear what people want us to hear. But from you we hear an inside perspective and that is fascinating.
    wonderful post!!!

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  3. I must plan a trip to Turkey sometime soon!
    gorgeous.

    Hope the puppy training is going well.

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  4. Beautiful place with excellent gardens. Very nice.

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  5. The place is awesome!! and the gardens... I like that the cities have this kind of places where the citizens can spend the day walking around and enjoying the day...
    Sad to hear about the intolerance!! but I think in every country you can see more or less intolerance about something :)

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  6. Thanks for the insight on present day Istanbul.

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  7. Awesome place..., and that it's now a restaurant I think is great -for all to enjoy. The "democracy" though, not so great! It's hard to imagine for me. It must feel weird to say the least.

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  8. i understand you dont want to lend anything to this kind of control..i wouldn't either.

    the grounds and building do look beautiful though

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  9. A beautiful place for a stroll - but those kind of controls must be difficult to take . . . Religion is so much about fear and control, - most religions.

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  10. I really enjoyed reading this post. So interesting and sad at the same time...

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  11. Hi there
    Well such a gorgeous home and grounds, but so sad that this beauty is tainted by intolerance. You know how much I love your country and city, so it very sad to hear about these winds of change. Your blog always find a way bring me beauty and educate at the same time.

    Sorry you had trouble accessing my blog comments. I've had similar on other blogs.. but happy that we can visit each other and share our interests. Have a wonderful weekend. x Julie

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  12. simply beautifully captured shots & nice reading your thoughts!

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  13. it's good to hear an insider's views as what one reads in the media can tell a bit/some/none of the truth!!!
    Would love to visit Istanbul one day...

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  14. Wow, this is so cool!

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  15. Well this is an interesting tale that you share with us. I would have never guessed from the photos. Your lead a unique life and I am enjoying getting to know you.

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  16. I'm very glad I discovered your blog. Such insight you bring into my world. Fascinating.

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