The Embassy of Turkey in Washington, D.C. is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located at 2525

Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

in the

Embassy Row Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C. with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded by ...

neighborhood.

History

Previously, the embassy had been housed in a mansion farther south, at

Sheridan Circle Sheridan Circle is a traffic circle in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Embassy Row. A number of embassies ring Sheridan Circle, including the former Turkish chancery, and the Romanian embassy on the southern side, and the Embassy of Pakist ...

and 23rd Street, N.W. The building today serves as the Turkish ambassador's residence. It was originally built for

Edward Hamlin Everett Edward Hamlin Everett (May 18, 1851 – April 26, 1929) was a noted American businessman and philanthropist, and a founder of the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont. Early life Everett was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 18, 1851. He was a s ...

, a bottling millionaire, in 1915. The Everett House was designed by

George Oakley Totten Jr. George Oakley Totten Jr. (December 5, 1866 – February 1, 1939), was one of Washington D.C.’s most prolific and skilled architects in the Gilded Age. His international training and interest in architectural decoration led to a career of continu ...

, a Washingtonian who had spent a brief period in Turkey as the official architect for Ottoman

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

. The Turkish government leased the building in 1932 and purchased it four years later. In the 1930s and 1940s, the embassy held numerous parties and musical sessions for famous jazz artists, such as

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

band, organized by

Ahmet Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

and Nesuhi, the sons of then-ambassador

Munir Ertegun Munir Ertegun ( Turkish spelling: Münir Ertegün; 1883 – 11 November 1944) was a Turkish legal counsel in international law to the "Sublime Porte" (imperial government) of the late Ottoman Empire and a diplomat of the Republic of Turkey durin ...

and later the founders of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. Notably, these sessions were not racially segregated, with both black and white musicians being invited, and the Ertegun brothers also managed D.C.'s first integrated public concert in 1942. In the 1980s, planning began to replace the chancery due to size concerns, with a new design that utilized Turkish

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...

being proposed. However, there was considerable local opposition due to the historic status of the old building and concerns it would not fit in with the rest of the

Sheridan-Kalorama Kalorama is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States. It includes the Kalorama Triangle Historic District and Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District. It is named after the Kalorama mansion. Kalorama Triangle is bordered by C ...

neighborhood. The first design was rejected by zoning authorities, so Turkey commissioned

Shalom Baranes Associates Shalom Baranes Associates, PC is an architectural design firm located in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was founded by architect Shalom Baranes in 1981, and as of 2014 had more than 140 architect principals and associates. In 2013, it ...

for a new plan that had a smaller footprint and fit in better. Reportedly, local approval was gained in January 1991 during the first night of the

Gulf War air campaign The air campaign of the Gulf War, also known as the 1991 bombing of Iraq, was an extensive Aerial bombing of cities, aerial bombing campaign from 17 January 1991 to 23 February 1991 in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the U ...

, where Turkey used its support of coalition forces as leverage. The new chancery was inaugurated by Turkish

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Süleyman Demirel Süleyman Sami Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously served as the ...

on April 23, 1999.

2017 violent clashes

On May 16, 2017, armed Turkish security forces attacked pro-

PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

protesters demonstrating on behalf of the North American Kurdish Alliance outside the ambassador's residence during a visit by President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

, forcing intervention by the

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the DC Police, and, colloquially, the DCPD, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columb ...

. On March 31, 2016, Turkish security forces had attacked protesters and journalists further down

during a speech by President Erdoğan at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...

References

External links

Embassy of Turkey official websiteWikimapia
{{Turkey–United States relations Government buildings completed in 1999

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Turkey–United States relations

History

2017 violent clashes

See also

References

External links