A neoclassical building of 1918 that was Istanbul’s first modern prison, now a courtyard hotel steps from Hagia Sophia.
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Overview
Built 1918, Reopened 1996
Sixty-five rooms and suites around an enclosed garden courtyard in the historic peninsula.
The building was designed by Mimar Kemaleddin Bey in Turkish neoclassical style and constructed in 1918–19 as the first modern jailhouse in the Ottoman capital. It held detainees awaiting trial and short sentences, and over the decades that included some of Turkey’s most celebrated writers — Orhan Kemal, Kemal Tahir, Sabahattin Ali, Nâzım Hikmet and Can Yücel among them. It served as a prison until 1969, was extensively restored, and reopened as a Four Seasons in 1996. Today it holds 65 rooms and suites arranged around an enclosed garden courtyard, a few minutes’ walk from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
The restaurant courtyard was the exercise yard. AVLU, the hotel’s Michelin-recommended Anatolian restaurant, occupies the flower-filled courtyard that was once the enclosure where inmates took exercise.
1918
Year the Building Went Up
65
Rooms & Suites
1996
Reopened as a Hotel
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Michelin-Recommended Restaurant
Rooms
Around a Garden Courtyard
Sixty-five rooms and suites arranged around an enclosed courtyard in the Old City.
Courtyard Room — Four Seasons Sultanahmet
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Enclosed Garden CourtyardThe rooms are arranged around a central courtyard, which keeps the Old City’s noise entirely outside.
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Turkish Neoclassical ArchitectureWatchtowers like fairytale turrets and abundant marble fittings, from the original 1918 design.
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Historic Suites CollectionThe suites draw on the building’s own century of history rather than a generic luxury scheme.
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Rooftop PanoramaThe seasonal rooftop lounge looks straight at Hagia Sophia and across the Old City.
Experiences
Everything, On Foot
Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapı are all within a few minutes’ walk.
Signature
Hagia Sophia
A sixth-century cathedral, a mosque from 1453, and the single building that explains this city.
Heritage
The Blue Mosque
Six minarets and twenty thousand handmade İznik tiles, immediately across the square.
Underground
The Basilica Cistern
336 marble columns in the half-dark, two of them standing on Medusa heads nobody has fully explained.
Palace
Topkapı
Four hundred years of Ottoman sultans, the imperial treasury, and pavilions above the Bosphorus.
Wellness
The Kurna Spa
An authentic hammam with traditional stone kurna, plus steam and sauna rooms.
Sister Property
The Bosphorus Pool
Guests can use the pool and spa at Four Seasons Bosphorus, reached by private land or sea shuttle.
Dining
AVLU, in the Old Yard
Contemporary Anatolian cooking in the courtyard, with ingredients from 22 local producers.
01AVLU, Michelin-recommended Anatolian cooking in the garden courtyard