ARCHITECT SINAN (KOCA MIMAR SINAN)

OTTOMAN ARCHITECTS

THE BALYAN FAMILY

THE FOSSATI BROTHERS

Akaretler

Akaretler is situated in Beşiktaş, at the fork between Şair Nedim and Spor streets in Beşiktaş. The eighty two terraced houses can be seen in a steep incline. They were built by Sarkis Balyan. Akaretler terraces are thought to have been intended originally to house palace personnel and their families, and consist of 133 self-contained homes. They are a sign of a changing lifestyle and urban development, which commenced with the large-scale development of the area around Dolmabahçe Palace over a period of two decades. Terraced houses first appear in the second half of the 19th century in Istanbul’s expanding suburbs, either as rehousing for those made homeless by fire or built by minority communities on endowed land. In 1892, some of these were converted into a school. Recently it was totally renovated.