Stone House Room/ garden view - Kocaev-Mehmet Ali Aga Mansion

Kocaev ranks as one of the main 18th century architectural examples of wall ornamentations, a kind of wall decorating method that holds a very special place within the history of traditional Turkish art.

Parts of the walls and spaces framing the windows are decorated with very special examples of traditional Ottoman drawings that are reflective of a certain period and style. The walls of the sitting rooms have been embellished with drawings of vases filled with various kinds of flowers, carnations, roses, poppies and leaves applied onto plaster, while the space near the door is decorated with panels of landscape views, views of Istanbul, drawings of mosques, towns and meadows. The wall above the entrance door is decorated with a bowl of fruit. The wall with the built-in cupboard has been subdivided by using five different decorative panels. While the panels at the two ends are filled with decorative floral ribbons, the three panels at the center are decorated with landscapes, with views of Istanbul with Leander’s Tower, Scutari and the shore of Tophane, while a town with a river crossing has been drawn on the panel at the right.

Quite similar to the artistry of its wall drawings, Kocaev’s woodwork is also the product of highly sophisticated artistic endeavors. The ceilings and wooden partitions are among the best examples of 19th century Turkish woodworking art.
The ceiling of the Main Hall with its wooden arches is separated into three sections by means of wooden panels. These panels are painted in red, blue and yellow, with intersecting and stylized wooden leaves. The ceiling of the sitting section reflects a matting effect thanks to its intersecting red and yellow rectangular panels.

The cupboard doors are decorated with rectangular intersecting petrol or bright green wooden mirrors of various dimensions. The room doors are also gracefully sculpted.

Kocaev’s fresh and stimulating air, its emerald green natural surroundings, its beds of medicinal herbs growing in its garden, and its preponderance of flowers emanating perfumes of fragrances all combine to gather its visitors in a loving embrace. Once experienced, the visitor finds ways to return over and over again, drawn by the charm of this very special place.