One of Istanbul’s most important buildings, the Sadullah Pasha Yalı is an archetypal 18th-century seaside house. Overhanging the water in a classic way, with a profusion of shuttered windows and concealing a domed ceiling, it is the real thing, even if its late owner, Emel Esin, a scholar of Turkic heritage, took theory a little too far, stripping away the wings to leave only the selamlık, the essential Central Asian ‘tent’ at the core, its four doors aligned to the four winds. It is a masterpiece, inside and out.

Cornucopia 52 has a four-page spread on this unparalleled house, with photographs by Fritz von der Schulenburg.