Turkish TV Series Filming Locations in Istanbul: Where to See the Mansions

If you have watched Yalı Çapkını, Yasak Elma or Aşk-ı Memnu, you already know Istanbul's waterfront mansions, the yalı, almost as well as the characters who live in them. Guests often ask us where these houses really are. The good news: most of them line the Bosphorus, and you can see several in one day.

One honest note before you plan: almost all of these mansions are private homes. You can't go inside, but you can see them from the coast road or, even better, from the water, which is exactly how they were built to be seen.

Yalı Çapkını (Golden Boy): Beylerbeyi, Asian side

The Korhan family's grand mansion is the Sakıp Sabancı Yalısı in Beylerbeyi, historically known as the Şevket Paşa Yalısı. It sits on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, a few minutes from Beylerbeyi Palace, so it is easy to combine the two. It is a private house: the best views are from the coast road or from a boat.

Yasak Elma (Forbidden Fruit): Yeniköy, European side

The Argun family home in the second and third seasons is the Dadyan Yalısı (also called the Adil Sezer Yalısı) on Köybaşı Caddesi in Yeniköy. Fans of Tuzlu Kahve will recognise it too: the same mansion appears in that series. Yeniköy itself is one of the prettiest villages on the European shore, with cafés along the water.

Binbir Gece (One Thousand and One Nights): Yeniköy

Onur and Şehrazat's series, the one that made Turkish dramas famous across Latin America, used the Ahmet Afif Paşa Yalısı in Yeniköy, a white four-storey mansion from the early 20th century. The same house also appears in Aşk-ı Memnu. It is a private home, seen from the road or the water.

Aşk-ı Memnu (Forbidden Love): Büyükdere, Sarıyer

The Ziyagil family home, where Bihter, Behlül and Adnan Bey's story unfolded, is the Büyükdere House owned by the Vehbi Koç Foundation. It has since been turned into a carpet and kilim museum for the Josephine Powell collection. This is the one house on this list you may be able to visit inside; check the foundation's opening days before you go.

Kara Para Aşk (Black Money Love): Bebek

Ömer and Elif's story was filmed across Istanbul and in Rome. One of its houses is a modern, dark villa on the hillside above the coast road in Bebek, the Bosphorus neighbourhood best known for its yalı. The seafront promenade in Bebek, with its cafés and the view towards the Rumeli Fortress, is one of the nicest places in the city for a walk and a coffee.

Fazilet Hanım ve Kızları (Mrs. Fazilet and Her Daughters): Sarıyer

The Egemen family's mansion stands on the waterfront along Meserburnu Caddesi in Sarıyer, near the northern end of the Bosphorus. Like the others it is private, but the drive along this stretch of coast is lovely in itself.

Kara Sevda (Endless Love): Kuzguncuk and the İstinye–Yeniköy road

Kemal's family home was filmed in Kuzguncuk, a small neighbourhood on the Asian side with wooden houses, a church, a synagogue and a mosque side by side. Nihan's family home is on the İstinye–Yeniköy road on the European shore. Kuzguncuk has appeared in so many series that walking its streets can feel like stepping into an episode.

Çukur (The Pit) and Ezel: Balat

The fictional Koçova neighbourhood of Çukur is Balat, on the Golden Horn. The coffee house, the soup kitchen and Muhittin's barber shop were filmed in its backstreets, and scenes of Ezel were filmed here too. Balat's colourful houses and steep streets have been a favourite of Turkish TV for years, so even if you haven't seen Çukur, you'll probably recognise something.

How to see them in a day or two

The locations fall neatly into two routes:

• European side: Balat on the Golden Horn, then north along the Bosphorus to Bebek (Kara Para Aşk), Yeniköy (Yasak Elma, Binbir Gece), Büyükdere (Aşk-ı Memnu) and Sarıyer (Fazilet Hanım ve Kızları).
• Asian side: Kuzguncuk (Kara Sevda) and Beylerbeyi (Yalı Çapkını), with Beylerbeyi Palace next door.

The mansions are spread along more than 20 kilometres of coast, so a car with a driver makes a big difference. A private boat on the Bosphorus is the most beautiful way to see the yalı from the front, the way they appear on screen.

Visit with us

We can plan a custom day for fans of Turkish series: a private guide, your own van and driver, and a route built around the shows you love. Tell us which series you watch and we'll put the day together. You can also see the Asian side or Balat and Fener on our regular tours, or the mansions from the water on a private yacht tour. Write to us to plan yours.