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Zeki Pasha Mansion, a 23-room waterfront mansion on the Istanbul Bosphorus that has been ranked among the most expensive homes in the world, has been put up for sale by its owner's family.
The 130-year-old property, which sits at one of the most prominent points of the strait, is described in the luxury real estate market as a residence whose value is almost “beyond price.”
The mansion, known locally as a yali, a traditional Bosphorus-front waterfront mansion built directly on the shoreline, had already drawn global attention when international real estate website Point2Homes listed it among the world’s ten most expensive homes four years ago. In that ranking, Zeki Pasha Mansion was placed second, with a value of $95 million (roughly ₺4 billion).
Located in the Sariyer district’s Rumelihisari neighborhood, right beside the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Zeki Pasha Mansion is regarded as one of the most imposing architectural works on the Bosphorus.
The mansion was designed by Alexandre Vallaury, one of the leading architects of the late Ottoman era, for Tophane Marshal Zeki Pasa, an important minister of Sultan Abdulhamid II who was known by the nickname “Filinta Mustafa.”
With its baroque influences and castle-like silhouette, the property has long stood out among the mansions that line the Bosphorus.
Drone footage that has recently been shared shows the mansion in detail from above, revealing both its monumental waterfront facade and its expansive garden, and presents the Bosphorus atmosphere in a way that makes viewers feel as if time has slowed down around the building.
The five-story mansion has a layout that opens both to the sea and to a large garden and can be accessed either from the Bosphorus side or from the land side. It is built on a plot of 510 square meters, while the closed interior space, including the basement floor, reaches 2,489 square meters.
Ceiling heights vary between 3 and 4.5 meters, which allows the rooms and salons to receive generous daylight and underline the sense of volume.
On each floor, there are six rooms in total, five of which look directly onto the Bosphorus, together with a spacious central salon, bathrooms and toilets, and kitchen areas.
The overall plan combines large reception spaces with private rooms so that the house can serve both as a family residence and as a venue for hosting guests while making the most of the uninterrupted water views.
The current owner of Zeki Pasha Mansion is known to be a family from Trabzon, a city on the Black Sea coast of Türkiye. Among the heirs, the best-known name recorded in relation to the property is Meliha Bastimar.
The family has now formally mandated a real estate agency to handle the sale process, opening the way for a new owner to take over one of Istanbul’s most recognizable waterfront residences.
Specialists in the Bosphorus luxury housing market note that other mansions along the waterfront are currently listed between ₺2 and ₺6 billion and say that Zeki Pasha Mansion stands apart from these properties because of its age, architectural pedigree, and location.
This combination of features leads experts to describe the mansion as a home whose value is effectively impossible to pin down with a simple price tag.
Zeki Pasha Mansion is often described not only as a piece of real estate but also as part of Istanbul’s broader architectural and cultural heritage.
Its waterside position on the Bosphorus, its baroque-inspired form that recalls a small chateau, and its links to a prominent Ottoman statesman together give the building a symbolic value that goes beyond its market listing.
While the mansion is now waiting for a buyer who can meet its financial value, it is also waiting for someone who will take on the role of custodian of a property that reflects an important layer of Istanbul’s history on the Bosphorus shore and continues to stand out as a landmark of the city’s waterfront.
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