Zaharoff House, Mühürdar

Mavi Boncuk | 

Zaharoff House, Mühürdar - Kadıköy

KADIKÖY - MÜHÜRDAR and ZAHAROF

Mühürdar Casino was opposite the door of Mahmut Muhtar Pasha Mansion that opened to Mühürdar side. The casino was opened on the wide, tree-lined and well-kept mansion side of the İzzet Mühürdaroğlu garden. Mühürdar district name, III. He gets it from Ahmet Efendi, who carries the seal of Moldavian Ali Pasha, one of the grand viziers of Mustafa. During the Ottoman period, those who bore the seals of important personalities were called Mühürdar. Mühürdar Ahmet Efendi made a vineyard in the area still known as Mühürdar in 1770, and in the following years it was known as Mühürdar vineyards. Mühürdar Ahmet Efendi built a white-painted building with three full floors and fifteen rooms, excluding the ground floor and the attic, and resided in this mansion. He was followed by his son Hüseyin Rıfat Mühürdaroğlu, İzzet Mühürdaroğlu, Neş'e Mühürdaroğlu and İzzet Mühürdaroğlu. 

During the years when Istanbul was occupied by the enemy forces, the British occupied the building where İzzet Mühürdaroğlu lived, as they did in many other places. The occupation forces stayed here until the defeat of the Greeks in Anatolia, and when they left Istanbul, they set fire to the house and left. The big building was destroyed, but the tree-lined garden that went all the way down to the Mühürdar beach remained.

In 1928, when the Foxtrot and Charleston dances swept through Istanbul like a frenzy, a Greek named Koço rented the sea side of the garden and opened the Mühürdar Casino. In those years, there was no electricity in Kadıköy. Three places that produced their own electricity became very famous. Hamdi's Casino, Kuşdili Cinema, Mühürdar Casino... In the evening, the people of Kadıköy would run to either Mühürdar Casino or Belvü Casino to dance. Koço, who runs the casino, left here.

Until the opening of Koço Casino in Moda Pier, Mühürdar Casino remained a colorful establishment where young and old people danced, had fun, and sat and rested in the evenings. After that, the tea garden opened in the same place could not keep the old pleasure and excitement alive. It was a cycle and it was over.

Mühürdar Ahmet Efendi's land stretching from Zaharof Pier to Küçük Moda was parceled out over time. The roads were opened. An apartment was built in place of Ahmet Efendi's burning mansion. Reminding the past years, only the name Mühürdar remained.

Source: Kadıköy'ün Kitabı: Geçmiş Zamanların, Mekanların ve Hatırlamaların Rafında

Tamer Kütükçü

ZAHAROF HOUSE

KADIKÖY, MÜHÜRDAR / 1857 ROBERTSON & BEATO

The three-storey wooden white house rising between Mühürdar and the sandy beach in Kadıköy belonged to a merchant named Zaharof. This Zaharof has nothing to do with the famous arms dealer Basil Zaharof other than the similarity in name.

It should be noted that it is not. The office of Zaharof, who was a marketer, was in Galata Helvacı Sokak, Hospital Han. It was said that Zaharof was a relative of the Count Ostrogoths who lived in the Bosphorus. His lawyer was Ridios, a French national. He had a pier built on the Mühürdar side of his house, which is very close to the sea, and closed the entrance with an iron barred door. He used to go to his workplace in Galata with his own steamboat that departed from this pier. He had a beautiful wife. He had a rumor with the famous Eduvard Hugnen (Edouard Huguen)[1], who was the operator of the Anatolian-Baghdad railways and held the post between 1908-1917. Zaharof's white mansion on the quay, his private pier, his stimbot,(steam boat).

He made a name for himself in Kadıköy with his magnificent life. But after his death, the family fell into an unexpected trouble, the house was sold and demolished, the garden was torn apart and apartments began to rise in its place. Zaharof's son Epaminda died in a nursing home run by Nadide Hanım in Küçük Moda, and his daughter Lulu, who was essentially mentally disabled, passed away after staying in Lape (La Paix) Hospital for years......

Strangely enough, although the Zaharofs had neither house nor anyone left, their pier with rusted iron bars lasted for many years, and that area was started to be called "Zaharof Pier". In recent years, when the Mühürdar coast of Kadıköy was filled towards the sea, the name Zaharof was also erased from Kadıköy; The pier is gone. A building that belonged to Zaharof's sister was located on Moda Caddesi Nail Bey Street, in a large garden with a striking variety of roses. In the following years, the governor of Sivas lived in this mansion, and in later years, its garden was parceled out and Nail Bey Street was opened. The interior of the mansion was indescribably beautiful and tasteful.

[1] 

Anadolu-Bağdat Demiryolu Genel Müdürü | 

Anatolian-Baghdad Railway General Manager Edouard Huguenin (1856-1926) 

The historical mansion, built by the German named Edouard Huguen, who was appointed as the manager of Haydarpaşa Train Station in Kadıköy in 1903, was sold to different people over the years and has continued to exist until today. The historical mansion, which managed to survive by defying the years, has turned into a ruin in recent years.

Urban researcher Berk Erkent, who spoke about the history of Madam Tamara Mansion, which is a frequent destination for enthusiasts especially in the summer months, said, “This is a very important point for the history of Kadıköy in particular and Istanbul in general. This place is popularly known as Madame Tamara Mansion. The first person to have this mansion built was the German Edouard Huguen, the Manager of Haydarpaşa Station. Huguen is building this mansion in 1903 by buying the land on which he will build this house from an Armenian family.

This is a 13-acre plot. German Edouard Huguen, Haydarpaşa Train Station Manager, lived in this mansion with his family until 1917. Of course, there is no electricity and water service in Kadıköy during this period.

Huguen and his family have a cistern built under the mansion to meet their water needs. When Huguen decides to return to Germany years later, he sells the mansion to Georgian couple Borkar and Madam Tamara.

Since Tamara and her husband, who started to live in the Kadıköy region, are loved by the people of the surrounding area, the mansion has been circulating in the languages ​​as Madam Tamara Mansion until today.

 After the death of her husband, Madam Tamara, she decides to sell the mansion and sells it to a Turkish family.