An era comes to an end: Çınar Hotel in Yeşilköy is being demolished

Istanbul's iconic 65-year-old Çınar Hotel has reportedly been sold to an Uzbek family and will be completely vacated and demolished within two months.

The hotel, an iconic structure with its modernist lines and interiors, hosted many projects, most notably the 1983 film 'Tokatçı'.

HISTORY OF ÇINAR HOTEL

Çınar Hotel is a 5-star hotel located in the Yeşilköy district of Istanbul. At the time it was built, it was Turkey's largest hotel after the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus.

The hotel was built in the early 1950s by Haydar Çınar as a small 15-room hotel. In 1956, businessman Tevfik Ercan (1919-2004) and his brothers purchased both the hotel and the land from Çınar.

The hotel was demolished that same year, and construction of the new hotel began. Two years later, on July 17, 1958, it was temporarily put into service with a conference attended by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iskander Mirza, and Celal Bayar.

It was officially opened a month later. When the hotel first began operations, it was the largest hotel in Turkey built with domestic capital.

From its opening, the hotel hosted many local and foreign celebrities and held numerous meetings. The eighth Bilderberg Meeting, attended by leading global figures, was held at the Çınar Hotel between September 18-20, 1959.

In the 60s and 70s, it became one of the most preferred hotels by the elite and football clubs. The hotel also served as a location for Yeşilçam films.

Starting in the 80s, with the opening of new hotels, the Çınar Hotel lost its former popularity.

For its 50th anniversary, the Çınar Hotel underwent a two-year renovation that cost 6 million dollars.

In the 70s, Uğur Dündar operated the discotheque at the hotel, while Cem Yılmaz worked at the hotel during his student years.

Additionally, Necmettin Erbakan married Nermin Erbakan at the Çınar Hotel on January 10, 1967.