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Cakiraga Mansion is built in 19th century Ottoman style by the wealthy "Cakiraga Family".
The Mansion is a three storey building w an exterior hall and a double main room.
Thought to have been commissioned in 1761 by Serif Ali Aga, the Cakir Aga Mansion was used continuously as a residence until the mid twentieth century. Its restoration was initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture in 1977 and continued in 1993 by General Directorate of Monuments and Museums until the mansion was re-opened as a museum in 1995. Interior arrangements and the planning of exhibitions were carried out by the Izmir Archeology Museum and Odemis Museum.
The plan of the mansion is roughly rectangular, with the long side aligned with the street to the southwest. There is a garden courtyard to the northeast. It has three stories covered by a hipped wooden roof that has eaves projecting out as much as two meters. There are two doors on the street facade; the larger one to the right is the main entrance. Inside, a small room for guards and attendants is placed between the two doors to control access.
Cakir Aga Mansion has many paintings decorating its walls that depict a wide variety of subjects, including buildings in landscape, still life compositions, flowers, and fake curtain and columns. Other panels include imagined panoramic views of Ottoman cities like Izmir and Istanbul. Its wooden ceilings have some smaller paintings of the moon and stars, fruits and flowers framed with fine moldings. While most of the paintings on the interior walls were preserved, the paintings on the outer surfaces, which were influenced by European models, have deteriorated over time and were removed at later restorations.
The mansion also exhibits quality on the moldings of the bay windows, window shutters, railings and balustrades.
Largely preserved to its original state, Cakir Aga Mansion is a quintessential example of historical wooden mansions of Western Anatolia.
Updated Mar 4, 2012
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After enetering the town, continue upon the main thoroughfare with the river on your left. After more than a km, cross the bridge to the right and take an immediate sharp right into the driveway.
The town center has a few choices serving typical Turkish fast food, like pides, soups, and prepared meat and vegetable dishes.
Wandering the streets in historic sections of town also reveals many more historic buildings, including a medrese, a fountain, and hamams.
Written Mar 3, 2012
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The mansion was built in 1760s by a wealthy local merchant named Tahir Aga of the Cakir family. There is a waiting room for guests, a kitchen, stable, and flagged hall. The winter living rooms on the second floor contain fireplaces. The walls and ceilings of the rooms on the first and second floors are decorated with woodwork.
What is interesting about this mansion is the fact that Cakir Tahir Aga had two wives, one from Istanbul and one from Izmir, and because they missed their home cities he had scenes of these cities painted on the walls of two of the rooms. I wonder if my husband would do the same if we had a mansion:)
Written Jun 25, 2009
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The houses of Birgi are mostly built of stone with wooden roofs and ceilings. They are generally hidden behind high-walled courtyards. With their pretty balconies, wooden window grilles and hand-carved wood, Birgi houses reflect an artist's care down to the smallest detail. You can easily observe that each of these houses has a different story to tell. Some of stone, some of brick, their variously shaped chimneys grace the rooftops like antique statues. With cellars, storage areas, and stables on the ground floor, most of the houses have their kitchen, oven, fountain and toilet in a part of the garden.
Written Jun 24, 2009
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Busily occupied by kids playing during summer time, Birgi streets have so much to offer including an old madrasa, a fountain, a Turkish bath, tombs, mansions, bridges and aquaducts.
Written Jun 24, 2009
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Most of the men in Birgi are farmers and the main pastime for men is sitting at the local coffeehouse. The Safak (Dawn) Coffeehouse in the town square has walls decorated with murals of the Aegean outlaws and soldiers known as "efe". The walls were painted by Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University students. Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University is working together with The Environment and Culture Foundation (CEKUL) to preserve Birgi's cultural heritage.
Written Jun 24, 2009
I remember my mum coming home happily after her sewing class to give me the big news: That we were going to Birgi on Sunday. We were surprised and pissed off. Never heard of the village and we both......
Birgi is a small town located in the Ödemiş district of İzmir province in Turkey. Its current name is a distortion of its ancient Greek name: Pyrgion (Greek:...
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