Category: Public, Educational
Type: Library
Location: Balat, Fener Neighbourhood, Fatih
Date: 17 or 18th Century and 1988-1990
Designer:Unknown and Cengiz Bektaş
Period: Ottoman Empire
Photos: Kadın Eserleri Kütüphanesi ve Bilgi Merkezi Vakfı Arşivi
The Women’s Library and Information Centre Foundation building, located on the Fener waterfront in the Balat district, stands as a significant example of 17th and 18th-century Ottoman civil architecture that preserves layers of the city’s Byzantine past. Originally a pair of traditional Fener houses that had fallen into ruin by the late 20th century, the structure was revitalized through a meticulous restoration project led by the prominent Turkish architect Cengiz Bektas between 1989 and 1990. Bektas’s intervention successfully balanced historical preservation with contemporary functionality, retaining the original masonry walls while introducing modern timber and concrete elements to accommodate the library’s archival needs. This architectural approach, which includes a seaside amphitheater for public events, earned the project the National Architecture Award for Conservation in 1992 and transformed the site into a vital cultural hub that bridges Istanbul’s historic urban fabric with its modern social memory as the first and only library dedicated to women’s history in Turkey.
