Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
clearly knew Therapia well. In the novel, the main character, Eirene, who was based on
Vita, spent her summers here.
North of the village are some of the old summer embassies of foreign powers. When
the heat and fear of disease increased in the warm months, foreign ambassadors would re-
tire to palatial residences, complete with lush gardens, on this shore. The region for such
embassy residences extended north to the village of
Büyükdere
, also notable for its
Named after the wife of the late Vehbi Koç, founder of Turkey's foremost commercial
empire, the museum is housed in a graceful old
yalı
and is a showcase for her extraordin-
ary private collection of antiquities and Ottoman heirlooms. This includes İznik and Kü-
tahya ceramics, Ottoman silk textiles and needlework, and an exquisite collection of dia-
dems from the Mycenaean, Archaic and Classical periods. To get here, alight from the
ferry at Sarıyer and walk left (south) from the ferry dock for approximately 10 minutes.
The residents of
Sarıyer
, the next village up from Büyükdere on the European shore,
have traditionally made a living by fishing, and the area around the ferry terminal (the
next stop) is full of fish restaurants.
