Illustrated Istanbul Apartment Buildings

Along with Istanbul's changing architecture, buildings received an artistic touch starting from the 1910s. The paintings drawn on apartment walls initiated a tradition. This style, particularly adopted in the early 1930s in the numerous attached-block apartments, was so embraced that it enlivened the inner facades of buildings from Fatih to Şişli, from Beyoğlu to Kadıköy. The characters of the painters who painted these apartment murals were also reflected on the walls. Moreover, each had an interesting story. Istanbul's tradition of painted apartments continued until the 1980s. However, with the understanding of modern urbanization, apartments gave way to complexes and mass housing. As a result, Istanbul's tradition of painted apartments ended, and only a few examples remain...

While meticulously documenting residences with murals at their entrances, "Painted Istanbul Apartments" also contributes to the social history of the city. It whispers to us as if from an old film frame of those years. And the mountains, over time traversed by natural gas pipes and dotted with electrical switches on their slopes, and the lake shores where mailboxes appear, invite the reader into their own story!