Bad news for celebrities: Bosphorus authority orders demolition of illegal structures

The demolition list covers 4,141 structures across Istanbul’s Sarıyer, Beşiktaş, Üsküdar and Beykoz districts, and includes names familiar from Turkey’s entertainment and business worlds.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Bosphorus Planning Directorate has acted against structures identified as illegal in the Bosphorus protected-view area. Sarıyer accounts for 1,982 of the structures on the list. It includes additional buildings or extensions associated with Ferdi Tayfur, Hülya Avşar, Harika Avcı, Süreyya Yalçın and Mehmet Ali Erbil. Business figures İshak Alaton and Hacı Ömer Sabancı also appear in the records.

In Beşiktaş, demolition orders cover 544 structures. The records include properties linked to businessman Mustafa Koç and his shareholders, as well as Saffet Ulusoy and his shareholders. Some entries refer to changes to balconies, roofs, garages and gardens recorded in municipal enforcement reports. The article also notes that some records date from earlier years.

Hülya Avşar’s name has appeared in an earlier legal case involving her Sarıyer home. In 2006, she faced court over allegations of unauthorized construction and renovation. The case followed a complaint by her neighbor, who alleged that she had built a wall along the road to her house and constructed an illegal structure in breach of the Bosphorus Law. Avşar gave evidence at a hearing in Sarıyer in April 2006.

The records also include a municipal report from 1985 concerning Ferdi Tayfur’s Sarıyer home. It alleged that an additional garage had been built beside the house. The article says the garage was later rebuilt after the necessary permits were obtained. The tender for the 4,141 structures is scheduled for Sept. 22.