Villa Florya Atatürk : 1930’s Bauhaus architecture in the Marmara Sea
Located in the Marmara Sea, in Istanbul Bakirkoy district, Villa Florya was the holliday house & summer office of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, father of the Turkish Republic.
It was built in 1935 by architect Seyfi Arka in a Bauhaus style. The mansion is constructed on steel piles into the seabed, connected to the beach (about 70m away) with a wooden pier. The L-shaped, one-floor building is made of a reception hall, a reading room, bedrooms and bathroom. It covers 602m2 including the pier.
This modern architecture reveals how progressive was Turkey in the 1930’s.
Atatürk founded the modern Republic of Turkey, implementing many audacious reforms such as laicity, abolition of the Sultanate, new alphabet, women right to vote in 1929 (before France in 1944)…
The Bauhaus architecture movement and school was founded in Germany in 1919 , before to be forbidden by Hitler, and has inspired the International modern architecture and design.
Practical information:
Florya house is now a national museum. Entrance fee about 2€.
Visit & text are only available in Turkish, but people there are very pleased to welcome strangers.
Address : Florya Atatürk deniz köşkü – İstanbul Cad. No:, Şenlik Mh. Florya Bakırköy, İstanbul, Türkiye
> 40 minutes drive from the city center in taxi, near Atatürk International Airport
