Legendary Ottoman architect’s Sinan’s historic Turkish bath put up for sale in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

A 16th century Turkish bath built by renowned Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan in Istanbul has been put up for sale with an asking price of 3 million euros, daily Birgün reported on May 9.

The bath in the historic Balat neighborhood, also known as “Ayakapı,” was commissioned by Sultan Nurbanu, the mother of Ottoman Sultan Murat III, in 1582. It was later renovated and bestowed with Jewish motifs, as Balat is a historic neighborhood for Jews living in Istanbul.

A lumberyard located next to the bath has also been put up for sale, with a “for sale” sign hung on the building’s exterior wall by the Ada Estate Agency. 

The lumberyard and the Turkish bath cover an area of 800 square-meters, according to the advert on the Ada Estate Agency’s website. 

The advert also warned buyers that any renovation work planned for the building needed permission from the state Council of Monuments.

Previously, the Ayakapı Turkish bath was put up for sale in both 2001 and 2012, but no buyer could be found due to “legal obligations” and the hefty price tag.    

“Ayakapı” means of “gate of the saint” in Turkish, and it is part of the district of Fatih, inside the walled city, on the shore of the Golden Horn. 

During the Byzantine era it was known as ta Dexiokratiana in Greek. It includes one of the most important surviving Byzantine buildings of the historical peninsula, now converted into a mosque, called the Gül Mosque.