Some apartment buildings in Istanbul carry a city’s collective memory far beyond their four walls and several floors. Rising on a corner at the intersection of two tree-lined streets in Nişantaşı, Antik Konak Apartment is perhaps one of the most charming, recognizable and yet least understood examples of this kind of building.

One generation knows it as Sütçüoğlu Apartment, the “residence” built by Tahsin Bey, where Burhan Altıntop lived on the ground floor. Yet behind this distinctive façade lies the name of an Armenian family recorded on insurance maps, generations of stories and local legends, and more than a century of transformation in Nişantaşı.

Standing at the intersection of Süleyman Nazif Sokak and Ayla Algan Sokak, formerly known as Zafer Sokak, the building is immediately recognizable for its corner position, wooden character, multi-story structure and distinctive colors. Antik Konak Apartment is located in Halaskargazi Mahallesi, Nişantaşı, Şişli, Istanbul, at the corner where Süleyman Nazif Sokak meets Ayla Algan Sokak.

The History of Antik Konak Apartment: From Imperial Shooting Grounds to Mansion-Lined Şişli

The land on which Antik Konak Apartment stands was, for much of the 19th century, part of the hills beyond what was considered the established city, dotted with gardens and mansions.

Even the name of the neighborhood preserves traces of this period. Nişantaşı is traditionally associated with the stone markers erected by Ottoman sultans to mark successful shots after military shooting practice. Toward the end of the century, Ottoman bureaucrats, Levantine merchants and affluent non-Muslim families seeking to move away from the crowded streets of Pera began settling on the hills between Şişli and Nişantaşı.

Even the street in front of the building hints at this layered past. According to available sources, the former name of Süleyman Nazif Sokak was Hacı Mahak Sokak, although no record identifying who Hacı Mahak was has survived.

There is also a charming local story associated with the poet whose name the street bears today. According to the antique dealer who operated on the ground floor of the building, Süleyman Nazif once had a two-story house on the opposite corner. Vedat Tek House also stands within the same street network, at the intersection of Vali Konağı Caddesi and Süleyman Nazif Sokak. In other words, Vedat Tek and Süleyman Nazif were close enough neighbors to walk to each other’s homes within a few minutes.

There is no verified record, however, establishing whether the land was previously owned privately or by a foundation before the building was constructed.

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The Construction and First Owner of Antik Konak Apartment: Following the Clues in a Map

The question of when and for whom Antik Konak Apartment was built has still not been fully answered.

The most reliable surviving evidence comes from Jacques Pervititch’s Istanbul insurance maps. On the 1925 Pervititch Insurance Map, the building appears under the name Oundjian (Unciyan). This record confirms that the building was standing by the mid-1920s at the latest.

The earlier date associated with the building comes from local accounts. Aykut Bodur, who operated an antique shop on the ground floor of the building for many years, mentioned in an interview prepared by Şişli Municipality that the building was designed by an Italian architect in 1889.

Neither this date nor the architect’s identity has been verified through archival documentation. The Cultural Inventory classifies the building as a 20th-century structure. The construction date of Antik Konak Apartment therefore remains an open question, somewhere between the late 19th century and 1925.

The most intriguing interpretation of the name appearing on the map leads to the Dadyan family. Some researchers have read the name on the map as “Dundjian” and suggested that it could correspond to Dadyan. The fact that Artin Dadyan Pasha, an important figure in Ottoman diplomatic history, died at his mansion in Şişli in 1901 has further fueled this possibility.

However, this remains a theory. The Cultural Inventory reads the name as “Oundjian (Unciyan),” and the exact location of Artin Dadyan Pasha’s mansion has never been conclusively established.

The Names and History of Antik Konak Apartment: From Unciyan to Sütçüoğlu

Few buildings have been known by as many names as Antik Konak Apartment. Each name belongs to a different period in the building’s history and to a different generation’s memory.

The earliest clue is the Oundjian (Unciyan) name recorded on the insurance map, most likely referring to the family that owned the property at the time. In official inventory records, however, the building is known as Kayseri Apartment.

The origin of this name is itself a mystery. According to researcher Nilay Örnek, the Dadyan family originated from Sivas and there is no established connection to Kayseri. Whether the name refers to a property owner with roots in Kayseri or simply reflects naming practices of the period remains unknown.

The name most commonly used today, Antik Konak, became established alongside the antique shop that operated on the ground floor from the 1980s onward. It is one of the rare Istanbul buildings whose popular name effectively emerged from the sign of a shop.

Then, in the 2000s, television gave the building another name: Sütçüoğlu Apartment. In the dialogue of the series, the building was proudly referred to as the “Sütçüoğlu Residence.”

Perhaps the most touching and lasting of all the building’s names is this one: nobody ever wrote “Antik Konak” on the title deed. The name moved from an antique dealer’s window to the street, and from the street into the language of the city.

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Architectural Features: A Late Ottoman Apartment Building on a Corner

A Mass Shaped by Its Corner Plot and Its Layout

The first element defining the architectural identity of Antik Konak Apartment is its location. The building rises on a corner plot where two streets meet, with its mass shaped around this prominent position.

A corner was a privileged position in late Ottoman apartment architecture. It allowed the building to open onto two façades while placing it at the focal point of the street perspective.

Much of the reason the building is so memorable in the opening sequence of Avrupa Yakası can be traced to this corner configuration. Viewed from either street, the structure reads as a single, distinctive silhouette.

Masonry Structure, Wooden Character: The Façade and Its Colors

At first glance, the façade of Antik Konak Apartment gives the impression of a wooden building. Yet Aykut Bodur, one of the people most familiar with the building, emphasized that it is a masonry structure and shared a striking anecdote about its durability: during the 1999 earthquake, not a single object inside the antique-filled building was broken.

This suggests a combination in which the structural system is masonry while the façade has a distinctly wooden character. The detail can be read as an elegant transitional point between Istanbul’s tradition of wooden mansions and the emergence of masonry apartment buildings.

Color is one of the building’s defining features. Surfaces painted in vivid, warm tones, window frames and moldings that distinguish the individual floor levels give the building a distinctive character compared with the more restrained modernist buildings around Nişantaşı.

The charming corner balcony on the ground floor is another one of the façade’s most photographed details.

Floors, High Ceilings and the Story of the Ground Floor

Antik Konak Apartment is a multi-story building. Şişli Municipality’s Nişantaşı publication describes it as seven stories including the basement, while detailed information about the number of apartments per floor has not been publicly established.

The most concrete information about the building’s layout comes from the ground floor. This level, which housed an antique shop for many years, was described in rental listings as having high beams and a four-section layout. A later listing revised the size to 210 square meters, while the ceiling height visible in photographs attracted the attention of observers. As one reader remarked, if the ground floor is like this, it is difficult not to wonder what the upper floors are like.

The current occupant of the ground floor is also part of the building’s relationship with the street: a döner restaurant operates beneath the building. The upper floors continue to be used as residential apartments.

This arrangement preserves a classic configuration found in late Ottoman and early Republican apartment buildings: a commercial ground floor opening onto the street, with residential levels rising above it.

The First Residents: A Cosmopolitan Century in Şişli

No complete list of the first residents of Antik Konak Apartment has survived. Yet the clues available provide a sufficiently clear picture of the social fabric of the period.

The Cultural Inventory records the building as associated with Armenian culture, while the family name appearing on the Pervititch map provides additional context for this classification.

During the late Ottoman period, Şişli and Nişantaşı were home to Armenian, Greek and Levantine families, Ottoman bureaucrats and the emerging professional class.

It is said that the poet of the Servet-i Fünûn generation, Süleyman Nazif, lived on the same street, while architect Vedat Tek had a house only a few steps away. Another example demonstrating the architectural significance of the street in later years is Levent Apartment, dated 1932 and attributed to architect Sırrı Arif Bilen.

Antik Konak Apartment rose within this literary, diplomatic and cosmopolitan neighborhood as a quiet witness to its transformation.

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From the Screen to the Street: Sütçüoğlu Apartment and Popular Culture

What introduced Antik Konak Apartment to millions of people today was a television opening sequence.

Written by Gülse Birsel, Avrupa Yakası premiered on ATV on February 11, 2004, and aired its final episode on June 24, 2009. The series became one of the most beloved comedy shows in the history of Turkish television.

Within the fictional world of the series, the building is the home of the Sütçüoğlu family. It is said to have been built by Tahsin Sütçüoğlu, played by Gazanfer Özcan, while Burhan Altıntop proudly refers to it as the “Sütçüoğlu Residence.”

The lesser-known detail is that only the exterior of the real building was used in the series. Interior scenes were filmed on studio sets. Nevertheless, the real building benefited enormously from the power of the fictional narrative. Aykut Bodur recalls one of the most charming anecdotes: after Avrupa Yakası became famous, even the occasional döner orders sent to the production set would end up being delivered to Antik Konak.

The building continues to attract visitors from different countries around the world.

Its popularity also found its way into the real estate market. According to reports published in 2022, a monthly rent of TRY 25,000 was being requested for the 210-square-meter apartment associated with the Burhan Altıntop character. At the time, the figure was described in the press as exceptionally high.

There is no verified record identifying famous residents of the building. The fame of Antik Konak Apartment comes not from its residents, but directly from its façade.

Living in Antik Konak Apartment Today: A Lifestyle and Investment Choice

Today, Antik Konak Apartment is an address that attracts those seeking a daily life connected to the historic fabric of Nişantaşı.

High-ceilinged, generously proportioned apartments can command different values depending on whether they have been restored or retain their original character. As with many historic buildings, the condition of the infrastructure, façade and roof maintenance, as well as the building’s conservation status, can be important considerations when evaluating an investment.

The location offers an equally distinctive lifestyle. The building stands on the street directly opposite the Valikonağı Caddesi entrance to Maçka Sanat Park. Nişantaşı’s boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and cafés are all within walking distance, while Osmanbey metro station can also be reached on foot within minutes.

For these reasons, Antik Konak Apartment represents one of Şişli’s most characterful options for both personal use and investors seeking a quality rental property.

Beyond Stone: The Memory of a Corner

Antik Konak Apartment is a small yet enduring witness to Istanbul’s layered identity.

Its journey from an Armenian family name recorded on an insurance map to an antique dealer’s sign and eventually to a television opening sequence watched with laughter by an entire generation demonstrates that the building is constructed from memory as much as from stone.

Whether called Kayseri Apartment, Sütçüoğlu Residence or Antik Konak, this corner of Nişantaşı continues to belong to the city’s collective memory under every one of its names.

Today, searches such as “Nişantaşı apartments for sale,” “apartments for rent in Şişli” and “Antik Konak Apartment for sale” bring attention to Antik Konak Apartment as an alternative to the standardized lifestyle offered by modern residences.

Its high-ceilinged spaces and the natural light created by its corner position meet the boutiques of Nişantaşı, the greenery of Maçka and the neighborhood’s cultural and artistic destinations, all within walking distance. The building offers a direct connection with Istanbul’s historical layers and an enduring form of urban living.

For those considering living in Antik Konak Apartment or within the historic fabric of Nişantaşı, access to the right property and informed guidance play an important role.

At Space Istanbul, we guide buyers and investors interested in apartments for sale and rent in Şişli and Nişantaşı, drawing on more than 20 years of experience in the real estate sector and a team of nearly 40 advisors.

If you are considering living or investing in Antik Konak Apartment or its surrounding neighborhood, you can contact us to explore properties tailored to your requirements.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Antik Konak Apartment located?

Antik Konak Apartment is located in Nişantaşı, Halaskargazi, Şişli, Istanbul. It stands at the corner where Süleyman Nazif Sokak meets Ayla Algan Sokak, formerly known as Zafer Sokak. It is within walking distance of the Valikonağı Caddesi entrance to Maçka Sanat Park and Osmanbey metro station.

When was Antik Konak Apartment built?

Its exact construction date is not definitively known. The building appears under the name Oundjian (Unciyan) on the 1925 Pervititch insurance map. According to local accounts, it was designed by an Italian architect in 1889, although this information has not been verified through archival documentation. The Cultural Inventory classifies it as a 20th-century building.

What are the other names of Antik Konak Apartment?

The building is officially listed as Kayseri Apartment. Because of Avrupa Yakası, it is also known as Sütçüoğlu Apartment and Sütçüoğlu Residence. The name “Antik Konak” became established through the antique shop that operated on the ground floor from the 1980s onward and eventually became the building’s most recognizable popular name.

Was Avrupa Yakası actually filmed inside this building?

No. Only the exterior of Antik Konak Apartment was used in the series. The interior scenes were filmed on studio sets. Nevertheless, the building became an iconic visual element of the series and continues to attract visitors from Turkey and abroad.

How much do apartments in Antik Konak Apartment cost?

Apartment sizes and current prices vary depending on the floor, condition and renovation status. In 2022, reports stated that a monthly rent of TRY 25,000 was being requested for a 210-square-meter apartment associated with the Burhan Altıntop character. For current sale and rental listings, prospective buyers and tenants can contact Space Istanbul.

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