Levantine Churches & Mansions in Izmir

Introduction

The Levantines were people of European origin who lived permanently in the Ottoman Empire. Their settlement was enabled by a framework of capitulations, i.e., agreements between their states of origin and the Ottoman Empire to encourage commercial exchange. Companies of European states opened their agencies in Ottoman cities and sent their representatives there. The European merchants were subject to the laws of their protecting states, and not of those of the Ottoman state. They enjoyed numerous privileges in economic, legal, political and social fields.

Originally, the term ‘Levantines’ was reserved for the merchants of Mediterranean origin and Catholic faith, such as the Genoese and the Venetians, who were the first ones who such privileges were granted to in the mid-15th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, similar treaties were signed with three great economic powers of Europe: France, England, and the Dutch Republic. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the dependence of the Ottoman Empire on capitulations increased significantly and merchants of many other nations, such as Austria, Russia, Prussia, Spain and the United States, were allowed to trade on its territory under similar conditions.

The Levantines contributed a lot to the development of the cities in which they resided. One of the cities that benefited greatly from their presence was Izmir (Smyrna). This city saw a great increase in trade since the 17th century and developed into one of the most important port cities in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the 19th century it was one of the biggest cities in the Ottoman Empire and also one of the richest.

In Izmir, the main area of the Levantines, or Franks, as they were known among the locals, was the so-called Frangomahalas. It was located near the coast south of today’s Freedom Square. In the 19th century, wealthier Levantine families began to move to the outskirts of the city, to the villages of Bornova (Bournabad, Bournabat), Buca (Boudja), Seydiköy (Gaziemir) and Karşıyaka (Cordelio). Their influx to these villages was especially fast in the second half of the 19th century, facilitated by two factors: the new laws which allowed foreigners to buy property in the Ottoman Empire, and the construction of railway lines which connected those villages to the city center and allowed the Levantines to reach their offices and warehouses there. Some families had been able to obtain special permissions from the Sultan to construct their churches and mansions in Bornova and Buca already before that. These villages, even though not exclusively inhabited by the Levantines, soon looked like small colonies of Europe.

The buildings that the Levantines constructed here showed the influence of the contemporary artistic trends of Europe. In the decoration of their mansions and churches they used a lot of materials and works of art imported from Europe. Their mansions are often Eclectic. Some also show features of Ottoman architecture, such as wooden protrusions and ornamental carvings on the eaves. All in all, these buildings served to manifest their owners’ great power.

That power came to an abrupt end in the 1920s. The great fire of Smyrna in September 1922 destroyed almost all the Frangomahalas and the proclamation of Republic of Turkey in October 1923 brought about the abolishment of the Ottoman capitulations – the raison d’être of the Levantines. They lost their privileged status, moved to Europe or elsewhere, or assimilated into the Turkish society.

Today, many Levantine buildings survive in Izmir, most completely in the districts of Bornova and Buca.

In the compilation of these portfolios my two main sources were ‘Levantine Heritage in Izmir’, a dissertation by Onur İnal (Koç University, 2006), and the website of the Levantine Heritage Foundation.

Sites

My portfolios are made up of photos of all the remarkable Levantine churches and mansions in Izmir.

Catholic Church of Saint Polycarp | Necati Bey Bulvarı 2, Konak | 1620s; 1775; 1890s; 1929
Catholic Church of Saint Mary | Halit Ziya Bulvarı 67, Konak | 1698; after 1889
Anglican Church of Saint John the Evangelist | Talatpaşa Bulvarı & Atatürk Caddesi, Konak | 1898-1899
Dutch Protestant Church | 1374. Sokak 24, Konak | late 19th or early 20th century
Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary | 1481. Sokak 8, Konak | Luigi Rossetti, 1903-1904
Catholic Church of Saint Mary | Cumhuriyet Meydanı, Bornova | 1832
Anglican Church of Saint Mary Magdalene | Gençlik Caddesi 22, Bornova | 1857
Charlton Whittall Mansion (the Big House) | Gençlik Caddesi 12, Bornova | 1830s
Richard Whittall Mansion | Gençlik Caddesi 24, Bornova | 1860s; 1880s
Wilkinson Mansion | Gençlik Caddesi, opposite the Edwards Mansion, Bornova | 1865
English Club (Well House) | Gençlik Caddesi, at the end of 78., 80. & 82. Sokak, Bornova
Tristram Mansion | Gençlik Caddesi 22, Bornova
Maltass (Wood-Paterson Mansion, Matthey Mansion, Steinbüchel Mansion) | Gençlik Caddesi & 82. Sokak, Bornova | first half of 19th century (?)
Edwards (Murat) Mansion | Gençlik Caddesi 19, Bornova | 1880
La Fontaine Mansion | Gençlik Caddesi & Kazım Karabekir Caddesi, Bornova
Pierre Pagy Mansion | Gençlik Caddesi & 80. Sokak, Bornova | early 20th century (?)
Fernand Pagy Mansion | 83. Sokak & 80. Sokak, Bornova
Balladur (De Andria) Mansion | 80. Sokak & 83. Sokak, Bornova
Charnaud Mansion | 80. Sokak 25, Bornova | 1831
Giraud Mansions | Fevzi Çakmak Caddesi 28, Bornova | Marcopoli, c. 1860; 1900s
Xenopoulo (Belhomme) Mansion | Fevzi Çakmak Caddesi 32, Bornova | Wolf Brothers, 1880
Paterson (Aliberti) Mansion | Kazım Karabekir Caddesi 49, Bornova | Wolf Brothers, 1856
Paterson Mansion | Mustafa Kemal Caddesi, between 159. Sokak & 556. Sokak, Bornova | end of 19th century
Ballian Mansion | Gençlik Caddesi 4, Bornova | 1878
Davy Mansion | Gençlik Caddesi & 162. Sokak, Bornova
Bardisbanian (Pandespanian) Mansion (the Green Mansion) | Ege University Campus, at the beginning of Ord. Prof. Dr. Muhiddin Erel Caddesi, Bornova | Ca. 1880
Catholic Church of Saint John the Baptist | 119. Sokak 17, Buca | 1831-1840
Protestant Church of All Saints | Erdem Caddesi 86, Buca | 1834; 1865
Forbes Mansion | Buca SSK Hastanesi, Buca | 1908, reconstructed in 1910
Baltazzi Mansion | Opposite 75. Sokak 10, Buca | 1860s
De Jongh Mansion | Menderes Caddesi 20, Buca | 1909
Farkouh Mansion | Uğur Mumcu Caddesi 29, Buca | 1903
Gavrili (Pengelley) Mansion | Uğur Mumcu Caddesi 53, Buca | Ignatios Vatiadis, 1905
Christian Russo Mansion | 81. Sokak 29, Buca | 1900s
Gabriel Russo Mansion | Menderes Caddesi 9, Buca
Barff Mansion | 24. Sokak, near Dokuz Çeşmeler, Buca | 1900s
Francis Blackler (Falbo) Mansion | Erdem Caddesi 67, Buca | 1855
Catholic Church of Saint Helena | 1728. Sokak 64, Karşıyaka | Raymond Charles Péré, 1904-1906
Löhner Mansion | Cemal Gürsel Caddesi 264, Karşıyaka
Van Der Zee Mansion | Cemal Gürsel Caddesi 322, Karşıyaka | 1900s
Pennetti Mansion | Cemal Gürsel Caddesi 338, Karşıyaka | Armando Pennetti, 1927-1929
Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes | 81. Sokak 10/10A, Göztepe | 1898-1902
Catholic Church of Saint Anthony of Padua | 1611. Sokak 6, Bayraklı | Joanna Berfiste, 1902-1922

Missing from the portfolios are the following buildings: the Cathedral of Saint John in Konak, the Edward Whittall Mansion in Bornova, the Rees Mansion in Buca, and the Aliotti Mansion in Karşıyaka. The collection could be expanded with photos of Levantine schools, hospitals and cemeteries in the city.