| Bebek |
 Bebek is one of the most fashionable villages along the Bosphorus. It is famous for its marzipan (badem ezmesi), and for the cafes which line its waterfront. It was once a favourite location for summer residences and palaces of Ottoman aristocrats, and at the end of the 19th century, caiques of merrymakers would set off on moonlit cruises from the bay, accompanied by a boat of musicians. The women in the party would trail pieces of velvet or satin edged with silver fishes in the water behind them while the musicians played to the revellers.One of the hosts of these parties was the mother of the last Khedive of Egypt . Abbas Hilmi II. Built in the late 19th century, the only remaining monumental architecture in Bebek is the Egyptian Consulate, which, like the Khedive's Palace , was commissioned by Abbas Hilmi II. The steep, mansard roof of this yah is reminiscent of 19th-century northern French architecture. There are lighter Art Nouveau touches including the railings draped in wrought-iron vines and a rising sun between the two turrets, symbolizing the beginning of the new century. The khedive used the yah as a summer palace until he was deposed by the British in 1914. From then on to the present day it has been used as the Egyptian Consulate. |