A city with a history of thousands of years, offering dozens of amazing buildings, mansions, palaces, cisterns, forgotten fountains and mysterious neighborhoods! The intrigues, murders and unsolved mysteries stretching back centuries... have left their marks until today....
Cemil Molla MansionOpposite of Ciragan Palace, on the asian side of the city, lies a beautiful mansion that hosted great personalities and many moments of fun and joy. Built for the statesman Cemil Molla, son of the poet Süleyman Celaddin Bey. When his daughter decided to get married, he took a big loan which didn't have the change to repay because he died in 1938. The mansion began to fall into despair, the family’s debts piled up, so the authorities seized the building and sold it to Kahveci Cemil Bey and his family. When his son died in a car accident and Kahveci Cemil Bey died soon after, the new owner’s wife left the cursed mansion and moved to a new house in the garden. Local people reported that Cemil Molla’s ghost would stalk the grounds at night. From the 1950s to the 1980s, potential buyers were discouraged by these tales. In 1986, Mesa Holding finally bought the plot with the intention of building modern luxury housing. But the house that had seen so much sadness, refused to die and the government stepped in to save Cemil Molla Köşkü for its historical significance. Today the building stands restored to its original glory with a fresh coat of paint and it survives as Mesa Holding’s Istanbul office |
Hollanda KonolosluguIn 1727, the Diplomat Cornelis Calkoen was in love with a Circassian maid, called Beyazgül (White Rose). A woman who worked for him when Cornelis came to Istanbul as the Dutch envoy to the court of Sultan Ahmet III. Although the spirit of the time permitted their unusual relationship, the Dutch goverment was not so kind, recalling Calkoen to the Netherlands after almost 20 years in Istanbul. Calkoen died at the age of 67, before he could see Istanbul again. Meanwhile the faithful Beyazgül still expected Calkoen to arrive. She had never received the news of Calkoen’s death, dying herself while waiting at the gates of the Palais de Hollande. A small statue commemorates the doomed love of Beyazgül in the consulate’s garden. But this is not the only reminder. Staff working in the building have reported ghostly footsteps, window shutters that move by themselves and even apparitions in the bedrooms at nights |
Bakirpasa MasionA really old mansion which looks as if it was a part of a horror movie! Located in the Bakirkoy neighborhood, its surrounded by many strange stories! The locals say that the most well known is that the mansion actually disappears for one day every year... |
Molla Zeyrek MosqueIn this case, we have to deal with a haunted mosque and not a house! Located in the historic area of Fatih district, is a former Byzantine church. During the night hours, locals claim that they hear screams coming from a point across the mosque and that there is also an underground tunnel, going from that point to Ayvansaray area! |
Cevahir Bedesten at the Grand BazaarAn unusual place to be haunted, is a section inside the Grand Bazaar, the biggest covered market in the world! The part called ''Cevahir Bedesten'', is believed by some esoteric sects, to have a portal that opens to another dimension! |
The Haunted MansionThe original name of this red brick mansion with stained glass windows, was Yusuf Ziya Pasha, currently housing the headquarters of Borusan Holding. It was built in 1911 on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait and considered as one of the foremost examples of Istanbul architectural heritage and among the most significant and historical buildings of Rumeli Hisari. The rumors come from the fact that its construction remained unfinished for a long period, because some of the workers claimed to have seen the late wife of the Ottoman pasha! |