The hotel chain’s first property in Singapore made history. Raffles Istanbul was born to it.
There are plenty of hotels in Turkey looking to steep themselves in tradition. But when you’re standing in a transcontinental city that was founded as Byzantium around 660 BCE and later tried on the title of Constantinople; that was ransacked by the Crusaders and served as the heart of the Ottoman Empire, you don’t really need to present your historic credentials. The past segues into your present, like a lover from another life. All you need to do is stand tall and proud, and you can have the world at your feet.
Which is exactly what Raffles Istanbul does, located on one of the seven hills of the city, overlooking the Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn. Europe lies at its feet, Asia Minor shimmers in the distance.
The walled city plays home to the 550-year-old Grand Bazaar with its covered streets and 4,000-plus shops. Raffles has the Zorlu Center, a modern bazaar of fashion, fine food and the arts. If its location reflects the modern face of Istanbul, the design—courtesy architects Hirsch Bedne Associates—makes a hat tip to history. The 185-room hotel belongs as much to the past as the present, with motifs of long-gone times referenced in much of the palette. Contemporary interpretations of Byzantine geometric design pop up everywhere—in the elevator flooring, in the name tags of the staffers, at the entrance and in the lobby.
There’s generous use of glass and crystal too, and of course of mosaic tiles—another popular Byzantine element. In fact, you enter the hotel through an onyx vestibule, with a crystal chandelier overhead and a gold mosaic floor underfoot.
It is art that is the heart of the hotel. In the lobby looms Lavinia, a bronze sculpture by artist Martin Dawe that takes its name from a famous poem by Ozdemir Asaf. Gigantic in its contours, you’re not surprised to know that the sculpture took its place on the property before the walls that enclose it.
Close at hand is The Dream of Istanbul, a hyperphoto of Istanbul’s iconic Dolmabahçe Palace, created by Jean-Francois Rauzier. The French photographer is famous for clicking thousands of photographs of a scene and then stitching them together by hand. For Raffles Istanbul, he has created an eight-metre-high visual that’s a mix of historic legend and modern fantasy. Rauzier is known to sometimes incorporate himself into the pictures he creates; here he’s inserted the big cats that used to frequent the area, as per legend.
On the mezzanine floor are four giant Andy Warholesque portraits by Istanbul artist Ardan Özmenoğlu. The first is of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic; another of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the conqueror of Constantinople. Look closely, and you see they are made up thousands of Post-its, painted over.
Also novel is a series of watercolours by American artist Margaret Tolbert. A regular visitor to Istanbul, Tolbert has provided Raffles with dozens of her sketches of everyday life in the city. Almost childlike in their simplicity, the paintings, all framed together, demand your attention as you pass them on your way to the bar.
Raffles’ love for art is not bound by tradition. There’s whimsy at work too. In the spa, where water is the overriding theme, a chandelier made from swirls of glass emulates the currents of the Bosphorus. At the Long Bar, the chandelier of glass ‘tops’ reminds guests of Turkey’s legendary Whirling Dervishes. Near the ballroom, three shimmering kaftans catch the light. They have been created by Turkish artist Yasemin Aslan Bakiri and are made of stainless-steel mesh, adorned with coloured glass.
My personal favourite, though, is the artwork that provides the backdrop to every bed in the guest rooms. The canvases in dreamy blue and white are fluid and gentle; abstract tributes to the gorgeous circular chandeliers of the Hagia Sophia.
They call Rome the Eternal City. Istanbul is certainly a timeless one, with the non-clock watching best done amid the art at Raffles.
coordinates
Raffles
Zorlu Center,
34340 Istanbul
+90 212 924 0200
reservation.istanbul@raffles.com
www.raffles.com/istanbul