“Your life is to be filled with April (Spring) greenery and vitality at this mansion that has thousands of blessings”
These are the first two lines of the magic poem that stands on the inscription above the ancient door which connects the two mansions in this building complex. The first western’s mention of the mystic gravure of Cappadocia where the mansions are now centered was documented by th
e famous adventurer and painter Charles Texiere during his explorations of Anatolian in 1830s. To get a feel for the mansion complex’s size and its surroundings you can take a short walk up to the Temenni Hill (the Wishing Hill) located in front of the main entrance of the complex, from there the panorama is marvelous and adds to the charm. The mansion at the first part (on the left when facing it) was built by Yaseri Bey, who was the first mayor of Ürgüp. Buildings in the front and back side have several frescos decorating the walls. The scenes painted were only made up of floral patterns indicating that the mansions were owned by a devout Muslim. The paintings in the niches are called “gates for paradise” or “paradise curtain” a classic theme in Islamic art. Yaseri Bey had these frescos painted by a Greek master. Yaseri Bey also ordered a rerouting of the sheep herds that normally would pass his house daily on their way to waters of the Damsa creek, he was afraid the dust created by the sheep would damage the freshly painted frescos of his house. The mansions consist of four parts; Haremlik, Selamlik, Yaseri Bey and Kayakapı. This mansion is one of the unique Turkish Muslim building established on the time. When you travel around Cappadocia, you will easily notice that the large mansions of the region with big and beautiful frescos belonged to Turkish Greeks. The reason behind this is that Turkish Greeks who had sent members of their families to seek their fortunes in Constantinople (İstanbul) and some became merchants of Russian caviar. The money made was quickly sent back to their families in Ürgüp who in turn built new and bigger lavish homes for themselves. But wealth didn’t stop there; new schools and even grand churches were built. In the early 1900s, the second owner Akıllıoğulları family took over the mansion. The Haremlik mansion owned by İsmail Akıllı, Selamlik Mansion was owned by Mehmet Akıllı. Ismail Akıllı had served as Ürgüp’s mayor for several years. The third mansion retained the name of Yaseri, the first owner and first mayor of Ürgüp and it is assumed that Nazmiye, wife of the M***i Şeyhülislam Hayri Efendi lived there. In 1948, the mansion’s name was changed to Akıllıoğulları Konak (Mansion) to honor its second owners, and was transformed into a secondary school. In 1990, Mehmet Toybıyık bought the mansions to combine these magnificent mansions into a boutique hotel. After years of planning, research and study he and his team of artisans and craftsman began to work in 2010 to restore and yet modernize these classical pieces of Anatolian architecture without losing any of the wonderful charm. The name “Fresco” comes from the numerous frescos inside the mansions. The hotel currently has 17 rooms and while some of them are cave rooms, there are also mansion suites as well. In the very near future additional 12 rooms will be available. Fresco Mansions are centrally located on the edge of old and new Ürgüp, providing plenty of wonderful scenic cobble stone streets and paths to explore old ancient district Kayakapı or Temenni Hill and also offers the magic view of Erciyes Mountain in a distance with new Ürgüp spread at the front. Nearby the Mansions, there is a 14th century mosque called Karamanoğlu Mosque and inside its garden there is the tomb of M***i Şeyhülislam Hayri Efendi (Sheikh-ul-Islam) (the chief religious official of the Ottoman Empire). Fresco Mansions are nestled on the side of Kadı Kale in the district of Kayakapı which provides a glorious view of old and new Ürgüp and is only 300 meters away from the city center, a perfect spot to start for window shopping, sampling local wines or enjoying Turkish Dining. Mansions are also only an hour’s ride away from both regional airports; Kayseri Airport is 60 km.s away and Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport is 55 km.s away. Remember: “…although we do not notice and behave agitatedly in our lifetime, life has lots of blessings for us...”
