Soğukçeşme Sokağı (literally: Street of the Cold Fountain) is a small street with historic houses in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, sandwiched in-between the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

and

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...

. The

car-free zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

street is named after the fountain situated at its end towards

Gülhane Park Gülhane Park (, "Rosehouse Park") is a historical urban park in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey; it covers an area of 9.7 ha, is adjacent to and on the grounds of the Topkapı Palace. The south entrance of the park sports one of the large ...

. The wooden, two or three-storey Ottoman houses consisting of four to ten rooms date to the 19th to 20th century, and have been restored with the initiative of

Çelik Gülersoy Çelik Gülersoy (September 23, 1930 in Hakkâri – July 6, 2003 in Istanbul) was a Turkish lawyer, historical preservationist, writer and poet. He is best remembered for the heritage conservation works he carried out on historical sites during h ...

in 1985-1986. Called "Ayasofya Konakları" (Hagia Sophia Mansions), nine of the houses are part of the hotel

Hagia Sofia Mansions Istanbul, Curio Collection by Hilton The Hagia Sofia Mansions Istanbul, Curio Collection by Hilton, previously known as Hotel Yeşil Ev, (literally: Hotel Green House) is a historic wooden mansion, located in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey, which is used as a hote ...

. The houses are named after the flower shrubs next to them as "Yaseminli Ev" (

Jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

House), "Mor Salkımlı Ev" (

Wisteria sinensis ''Wisteria sinensis'', commonly known as the Chinese wisteria, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family (botany), family, native species, native to China, in the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Yunnan. Gr ...

House), "Hanımeli Ev" (

Honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...

House) etc. The buildings are decorated in the 19th-century style with furniture including such items as beds and consoles, silk curtains, velvet armchairs and gilded mirrors. Most notable guest of the hostel was

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía (Sophia Margaret Victoria Frederica; Μαργαρίτα Βικτώρια Φρειδερίκη, romanized: ''Sofía Margaríta Bictória Freideríki''; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spai ...

, who stayed in the spring of 2000 for four nights. The birthplace of Turkey's 6th president

Fahri Korutürk Fahri Sabit Korutürk (15 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish people, Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the sixth president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the List of commanders of the ...

(1903–1987) is also situated in this street. One of the houses hosts the library "İstanbul Kitaplığı" with over 10,000 books about IstanbulDevletşah
owned by the Çelik Gülersoy Foundation. On one end of the street towards Gülhane Park is a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

cistern, which houses the "Sarnıç Restaurant" today.

References

Sources

External links

Ayasofya Konakları
hotels on Soğukçeşme Sokağı {{DEFAULTSORT:Sogukcesme Sokagi Fatih Hotels in Istanbul Ottoman architecture in Istanbul Pedestrian streets in Turkey Redevelopment projects in Istanbul Streets in Istanbul Tourist attractions in Istanbul