Istanbul governor transfers ownership of two waterside mansions from municipality to gov’t

The Istanbul Governor’s Office has transferred the ownership of two magnificent waterside mansions in the Ortaköy district from the Metropolitan Municipality to the government, drawing criticism from local authorities who said they would take the issue to the judiciary.

Tuesday September 06 2022 03:41 pm

This file photo shows Hatice Sultan Mansion.

Duvar English

The Istanbul Governor’s Office has transferred the ownership of two renowned mansions, worth 7 billion liras, from the opposition-run Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) to the Treasury.

The İBB’s Twitter account made the announcement on Sept. 5, saying that the move was undertaken by the Transfer, Settlement and Allocation Commission run by the Istanbul Governor’s Office and concerns the ownership of Fehime Sultan and Hatice Sultan mansions in the Ortaköy district.

🚨 SON DAKİKA

İstanbul Valiliği'nde toplanan Devir Tasfiye ve Paylaştırma Komisyonu, Fehime Sultan ve Hatice Sultan yalılarının mülkiyetini İBB'den alarak Hazine'ye devretti.
— İBB Haber (@ibbhabercomtr) September 5, 2022

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), slammed the decision, vowing to follow up on the issue in the judiciary.

“Two more properties of the İBB worth billions of liras have been seized by the central management. We are once again facing a management understanding that has gone bankrupt in the eyes of the public,” İmamoğlu wrote on Twitter.

Bugün İBB’nin milyarlarca lira değerindeki 2 mülküne daha merkezi idare tarafından el konuldu. Hem hukuk nezdinde iflas etmiş bir dayatma, hem de halk nezdinde iflas etmiş bir yönetim anlayışı ile bir kez daha muhattap olduk. Hukuki olarak sonuna kadar konunun takipçisiyiz.
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) September 5, 2022

CHP vice chair Seyit Torun, responsible for the municipalities, also took to Twitter to slam the move, saying: “Invasion, pillage, extortion! To whom will (the government) present the benefits of these two distinguished mansions that are worth in total 7 billion liras? Never had such a mentality that is an enemy to its history, values and country come to power. The properties of Istanbul residents will be returned to them.”

İşgal, talan, gasp!

Toplam değerleri 7 milyar TL olan bu güzide iki yalı giderayak hangi şahıs, kurum ya da kişilere peşkeş çekilecek?
Tarihine, değerlerine ve ülkesine bu kadar düşman bir zihniyet daha hiç gelmemişti.
İstanbulluların malı, İstanbullulara iade edilecek! pic.twitter.com/V8PCroyUpP
— Seyit Torun (@Seyit_TORUN) September 5, 2022

İBB General Secretary Can Akın Çağlar held a press statement with regards to the issue on Sept. 5, saying that the municipality will take the issue to the judiciary.

“On behalf of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and 16 million people that it represents, we will file an application with the judiciary for this right to be protected. Within the framework of the decision given by the judiciary, we are sure that these properties will be given to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and 16 million people,” Çağlar said.