Category:Yalı

English: A yalı (, from Greek yiáli γιαλή (mod. γιαλός), literally "seashore, beach") is a house or mansion constructed at immediate waterside (almost exclusively seaside) in Istanbul and usually built with an architectural concept that takes into account the characteristics of the coastal location. A family who owned a waterside residence would spend some time in this usually secondary residence located at the sea shore, as opposed to the "konak" (mansion, aside from the term's use to refer to buildings with administrative functions) or the "köşk" (pavilion, often serving a determined practical purpose, such as hunting, or implying a temporary nature). Thus, going to the "yalı" acquired the sense of both going to the seaside and to the house situated there. In its contemporary sense, the term "yalı" is used primarily to denote the total amount of 620 waterside residences, mostly dating from the 19th century (some of them date from the 18th century, and some from the early 20th century), sprinkled along the Bosphorus in Istanbul. As such, they constitute one of the city's landmarks.