Two-century-old pavilion up for sale for $7.2 mln

ISTANBUL

The Razi Trak Pavillion, a two-century-old structure located in the Ziverbey neighborhood of Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, has been put up for sale for 85 million Turkish Liras ($7.2 million).

Constructed by a French architect in the 1800s, the historical pavilion is a four-floor building with 26 rooms, four living rooms and three bathrooms.

“The Trak family’s fourth-generation owners put the pavilion in the block for sale as they are no longer using it,” real estate agent Amber Erdoğan told the Demirören News Agency on Dec. 27.

The exact date of the construction is unknown. “The first owner of the house is Şekip Bey, a merchant. Later, İlyas Bey, a man responsible for the Ottoman sultan’s clothes, bought it,” Erdoğan said.

“Bey” means “Mister” in English, and in the Ottoman era, as there was no usage of surnames, men were addressed as “Bey” after their names as a mark of respect.

According to the agent, the third owner of the pavilion was Egyptian Princess Hoshiyar. “She painted pyramids and some Egyptian motives on the ceilings of some rooms as she longed for her country,” Erdoğan said.

After the fourth owner, İlyas Bey, the grandfather of Razi Trak, bought the pavilion, “the Trak family’s era began.”

Razi Trak was a businessman who presided over Istanbul’s giant football club Fenerbahçe in the 1961-1962 and 1980-81 seasons. He died in 1997.

After a century, the new family members have put up the pavilion for sale. When asked if there was a demand to buy, the agent said, “We are in talks with some Turkish businessmen.”