Ajia Hotel

A’jia Hotel awarded by the 2009 Condé Nast Johansens Award for Excellence as “Most Excellent Charming Hotel” in Europe. A distinguished boutique Hotel, a’jia is a traditional Ottoman mansion that jewels the Asian shores of the Bosphorus. With a well appointed contemporary interior design, and its centuries old architecture the venue oozes trend and excitement. When you add the extraordinary attention to detail, individualized service and HIP aspect in the mix, hotel experience is simply redefined.

HISTORY OF A’JIA HOTEL (AHMET RASİM PAŞA YALISI )

The word “yalı” in Turkish comes from Greek yiáli,( literally "seashore, beach") is a house or mansion constructed at immediate waterside (almost exclusively seaside) in Istanbul and usually built with an architectural concept that takes into account the characteristics of the coastal location.

Ahmet Rasim Paşa Yalısı was built at the end of the 19th century. Although the architect of the building is not known, the ampiric style and the era it belongs to leads to the allegation that it must be the work of Balyan family.

The yalı is named after Ahmet Rasim Paşa (1826-1897). Having lived during the regency of Sultan Abdulaziz and Sulatn Abdulhamid, Ahmet Rasim Paşa served various governships such as Yanya,Tuna,Trabzon,Aydın until he was appointed as Istanbul Sehremini’s mayor, police chief in 1878. Later, he was sent to the governship of Tripoli where he served for 13 years until his death in 1897.

After it was burnt down, the yalı was rebuilt in 1898 to be sold to the Istanbul Municipality by Ahmet Rasim’s family. Following the Turkish War of Independence, it functioned as the 36th elementary school of the new Turkish Republic until 1970. In 2002 the restorations began to turn the building into a hotel. Since year 2005, A’jia Hotel has been hosting guests from all around the world in this historical mansion with its contemporary interior design.