My Personal Connection to The Botter Apartment

Seventeen years ago, my father and I slipped into the Botter Apartment, a crumbling, abandoned building that felt as if it might collapse beneath our feet. It probably wasn’t legal, and it certainly wasn’t safe, but curiosity got the better of us.

The Botter Apartment, Istanbul’s first Art Nouveau building, had always cast a spell over my dad. As an architect who was passionate about the city’s iconic structures, he was drawn to the Botter’s unique story — and I could see why.

Ever since that day in 2007, the Botter has held a special fascination for me, too.

Abdulhamid II, one of the most politically controversial figures in Turkish history, commissioned the apartment from the Italian architect Raimondo D’Aronco for his Dutch fashion adviser, Jean Botter.

While Abdulhamid has been known to be an oppressive ruler and contributed to the Islamisation of Turkey, he had embraced a much westernised lifestyle. A fun fact: he was obsessed with opera and ballet, but not fond of bitter ends; his art directors changed the stories’ sad endings to happy ones when they were performed for the sultan.

Botter, along with many of D’Aronco’s other creations in Istanbul, was part of Abdulhamid’s push to modernise Turkey. But these grand gestures were mostly aimed at the Levantine elite and royalty, not the everyday people of the city.

Botter in 2007

Botter in 2025

Botter in 2007 and my father’s silhouette

Botter in 2025

Fifteen years after our “break-in,” the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) began restoring the building. How I wished my father could see it. He would probably have liked how it turned out. First of all, he would probably be proud that the building has been transformed into a public space, whereas its past was more private.

He always said the building shouldn’t be renewed, just cleaned and repaired, and I’m sure he would have appreciated how the restoration kept its original texture intact.

Now, seventeen years after our break-in, I’m working on a piece about Botter Apartment — nowadays, known as Casa Botter. I feel privileged to write about something that holds a special place in both my personal life and Istanbul’s urban memory.

Sometimes I wish my father watches me and be proud of what I’ve achieved so far, too. I hope I will write something he would also love, not just because I’m his son, but because I’ve done the story justice.

The article will be online on CNN Travel pages — hopefully soon.