Around
the hotel and distances:.Lütfi
Kirdar Congress & Exhibition Center 1.5 km, Atatürk airport
25 km . In the old part of the city istanbul called Taksim Tepebasi..The
hotel has a great view on the Bosphorus..
Number of rooms: 145 rooms, 275
beds.6 suites, 2 junior suites. City and historical views are available.
Room details:Air condition, balcony,
telephone, bathtub, hair dryer, television, satellite tv, minibar
and/or mini refrigerator and safe box
General Facilities:Central and/or
split air conditioning, central heating, safe box at reception, 24
hrs room service, doctor or nurse, indoor parking, laundry, dry cleaning,
gift shop, garden and power generator
Wining&dining:
Breakfast lounge. 3 alacarte restaurants (400 pax) .
Price&Board:Bed and Breakfast,On
request Half Board.
Hotel
History and other Informations:
PERA PALAS, ORIENT
EXPRESS
The Pera Palas
made a great change in the landscape of Istanbul. Designed by the
French architect Alexander Vallaury, also the architect of Union Française
And the Ottoman Bank was begun in May 1881; the hotel was opened October
1891. It is said that Sultan Abdülhamit attended the opening
ceremony. The " Compagnie Internationale dés Wagons et
des Grands Express Européens " had built the hotel for
the use of passengers coming from Paris to Istanbul. This is why the
symbols of the Pera palas and the orient express are the same.
From the time of its opening until today, Pera palas had been frequented
by well-known and highly-placed figures in the political world; such
as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Ismet Inönü, Celal Bayar,
Adnan Menderes, Fahri Korutürk, Refik Koraltan, King Zogo of
Albania, Shah Riza Pehlevi of Iran, King Edward V111 of England ,
King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, King Carol of Romania, president Tito
of Yugoslavia and Jacqueline Kennedy. The long list of political guests
includes Giscard d'Estaing, Von Papen, Mata Hari Cicero .The list
also includes innumerable names from the world of culture and art
such as Agatha Christie, Yehudi Menuhin, Marie Bell .
Those who know the story of Agatha Christie will remember that she
was missing for eleven days in 1926, and that she wrote she had hidden
a key in connection with the mystery. On the seventh of march in 1979
a rusty iron key was found in room 411 at the Pera Palas, but still
the mystery has not been solved. In 1897, Seker Ahmet Pasa, a prominent
painter had a major exhibition at the hotel.After the First War, occupying
forces used the Pera Palas as their head quarters.After the occupation,
the British gave "the key to Istanbul" back to Celal Bayar
in this hotel, where Ismet Inönü stayed during the armistice
talks.The dancing and beauty competition of the Fashion Revue was
first arranged in the Pera Palas salons. The most select balls were
held there. For feasts special menus were prepared and wine and champagne
flowed like water.It should be mentioned that Pera Palas had been
awarded with several medals and a Diploma of Honor.According to Haldun
Taner, the famous writer, it was the beloved hotel of the elite of
Istanbul and the passengers of the Orient Express,The step by step
history of the Pera Palas is quite interesting. By the end of the
19th century, the hotel had the first electric elevator in Istanbul
and its primitive generator served surrounding buildings as well.In
1915, Petros Bodosaki, the Greek windmill owner visited the hotel.
He was turned away due to his poor looks. He got angry enough to buy
the hotel. In 1919, Bodosaki turned over the management to his son
Haci Toma Anastasiadis. Due to his tax debt, the hotel was then auctioned
and the state took up the management in 1923, This is how Pera Palas
became functional again. Since then, it holds the title of "the
oldest European Hotel of Turkey."After 1923, Misbah Muhayyes,
who gave much to Atatürk during the Syrian campaign, received
a letter of thanks from Atatürk who upon Muhayyes's wish honored
him with Turkish citizenship and also gave the management of the hotel.He
wrote a will which stipulated that the income of 6the enterprise be
divided between philanthropic constitutions. In 1963, trustees left
the management entirely to these organizations after forming the Istanbul
Hotel Management and Tourism Trading company.Towards the end of 1977,
a businessman from Gaziantep, Hasan Süzer, bought the 60% share
and became the Chairman of the Board of Directors and shortly after
bought up the remaining shares.Pera Palas was renewed from top to
bottom under the management of Hasan Süzer without destroying
the historic qualities.There can be no doubt that Pera Palas, which
lived through the Ottoman decline, the founding of the Republic, two
world wars and changing political, social and economic conditions
will become the scene of new romances and scenarios in the future.
|
