Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus
The Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus (Turkish: Hilton İstanbul Bosphorus) is a five star hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the longest operating Hilton Hotel outside the United States.[1][2]
| Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus | |
|---|---|
 Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus seen from north (2011) | |
| |
| General information | |
| Classification |  |
| Location | Cumhuriyet Cad., Elmadağ, Şişli |
| Town or city | Istanbul |
| Country | Turkey |
| Opening | June 10, 1955 |
| Owner | Emekli Sandığı (Pension Fund) |
| Management | Hilton Hotels |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 11 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), USA |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 499 |
| Number of suites | 13 |
| Number of restaurants | 6 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and opened in 1955 as the Istanbul Hilton, it was the first modern hotel in Europe built from the ground up following World War II.
Project
On December 19, 1950, Conrad N. Hilton revealed to the New York Times that he had recently reached an agreement with the Turkish Government to build a new Hilton hotel in Istanbul with 300 rooms costing US$5 million. The U.S. governmental agency Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), which administered the Marshall Plan, the post-war aid program for Europe, was the main financier of an investment project totalling US$50 million in the whole of Europe. Hilton would bring up the operation capital and run the hotels while keeping one third of the profits.[1]
At the time, Istanbul was growing in tourism, economy and commerce, but lacked high-class accommodation sites except six luxury hotels (Park Hotel, Konak/Tokatlıyan Hotel, Tarabya Konak Hotel, Pera Palace Hotel, Deniz Park Palace Hotel and Splendid Palace Hotel) as well as six first-class hotels (Continental Hotel, Bristol Hotel, Londra Hotel, Öz İpek Palace Hotel, Çınar Hotel and Akasya Hotel). The total number of rooms conforming to internationally acceptable comfort standards was 290. The project would more than double the city's accommodation capacity at the international level.[1]
John Wilson Houser, vice-president of Hilton International, wrote a letter to Conrad N. Hilton on June 23, 1951 about the Soviet Union's intention to build a 1,000-room hotel in Istanbul similar to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, plans of which he had seen. Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus project thus became a factor in the Cold War US–Soviet rivalry.[1]
The final contract between the Turkish Government and Hilton Hotels was signed on August 9, 1951. The necessary land and US$3 million of the investment capital were provided by Emekli Sandığı, the Turkish Pension Fund, and the remaining US$2 million by the ECA. Hilton International secured the initial operating rights for 20 years.
Architecture and construction
The hotel was designed by the renowned American architectural and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), which was also carrying out some other urban planning and building projects in Turkey. Award-winning Turkish architect Sedat Hakkı Eldem was appointed as an advisor.[1]
The Hilton Hotel was built upon the confiscated property of a former Armenian cemetery.[3][4][5]
The groundbreaking took place in the summer of 1952.[1] German company Dyckerhoff, Widmann & Julius Berger was signed for the construction. The labor at the construction site was carried out by up to around 500 Turkish workers and engineers. Critical construction materials were imported. White Portland cement, glass and structural steel came from Germany, marble and ceramic fittings from Italy, and aluminum window castings, air-conditioning units and elevators from the United States.[6]
The eleven-story building, in the form of a rectangular prism with dimensions of 21 m × 100 m (69 ft × 328 ft), represents modern architecture. The building was erected on a green hillside with a panoramic view of the Bosphorus and is very close to the busy Taksim Square.[1][6][7]
The building is a combination of the modern lines of Gordon Bunshaft with the rich artistic and romantic elements of Ottoman and Turkish architecture, implemented by Sedat Hakkı Eldem.[1] As an example of Orientalism, the roof of the main entrance, designed by Eldem, resembles a flying carpet.[8] The decorative tiles came from Kütahya, and the carpets for the rooms covering 12,500 m2 (135,000 sq ft) were woven in Konya by hand.[1]
After completing the construction work in a record time of 21 months, the hotel became the largest in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.[1]
The hotel was temporarily opened on May 20, 1955. The official opening took place in a ceremony on June 10, 1955 in presence of Conrad N. Hilton,[9][10] Fahrettin Kerim Gökay, Governor and Mayor of Istanbul, as well as American guests and celebrities, who came the day before on a chartered flight. Among them were Terry Moore, Olivia de Havilland, Mona Freeman, Irene Dunne, Sonja Henie, Diana Lynn, Merle Oberon, Ann Miller, Lon McCallister, Keefe Brasselle, Leo Carrillo and Elaine Shepard.[1]
Rooms, restaurants and facilities
The Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus contains 499 rooms of 5 m × 6 m (16 ft × 20 ft) with private balcony. In addition, the hotel offers 158 executive rooms and 13 suites.[1][11]
Restaurants at the hotel are "Dubb" which offers Indian cuisine, "Veranda Grill & Bar" for organic food and fish, "Bosphorus Terrace", "Lobby Lounge & Bar", "Pool Café" and "Dragon", which offers classical Chinese cuisine.[11]
Further facilities of the hotel are a Turkish bath, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room for relaxing.[11]
Notable guests
Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus hosted following important heads of state apart from numerous nobilities, politicians, sportspeople and celebrities:[1]
In popular culture
The hotel is recognizable in Jules Dassin's 1964 film "Topkapi", in an exterior shot that shows the hotel in which the main characters are staying as they plan their heist.[12]
References
- Altun, Mehmet (2010). Hilton Istanbul-Hilton İstanbul'un anı defterinden 55 yıl-55 years in the chronicles of Hilton Istanbul (PDF) (1 ed.). Istanbul: Ofset Yapımevi. p. 148. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
- "Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus". Hilton. Archived from the original on 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- Nalci, Tamar. "Istanbul Radio was an Armenian Cemetery". Midyat (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- Koc, Vehbi (1977). My life story: the autobiography of a Turkish businessman. Vehbi Koç Foundation. p. 238.
- Tuğlacı, Pars (1991). İstanbul Ermeni kiliseleri. İstanbul: Pars Yayın. ISBN 9789757423003.
- Wharton, Annabel Jane (March 2, 2004). Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture. University of Chicago Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-0226894201. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
- Öztürk, Dilek (2010-06-10). "İstanbul Hilton Oteli'nin 55. Yılı" (in Turkish). arkitera. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
- "İstanbul Hilton Oteli" (in Turkish). arkiv. 2008-06-23. Archived from the original on 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
- Deliklitaş, Murat; Uğur Can (2010-07-01). "Hilton İstanbul'un 55'inci yıldönümü kutlandı". Hürriyet Ekonomi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2013-02-19.
- "Conrad N. Hilton" (PDF). Ultimate Warrior. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
- "Hilton Istanbul" (in Turkish). Hilton. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
- Gurata, Ahmet (2012). "City of Intrigues: Istanbul as an Exotic Attraction". In Koksal, Ozlem (ed.). World Film Locations: Istanbul. Intellect Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-841-50567-1.