World Art Utopia

Four Seasons Sultanahmet (Sultanahmet Jail) — Istanbul

Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet at dusk, a former jail with arched windows, tiled panels and a lit entrance
Artwork FileIstanbul, Türkiye

Sultanahmet Jail

SeenAug 2022

Tevkifhane Sokak No. 1, Istanbul, Türkiye · 1918-1919

Photo: Gryffindor / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as published on World Art Utopia.

The Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet fills the former Sultanahmet Jail, built as a prison in 1918-1919 in Istanbul’s old town. The jail was later abandoned, and the building opened as a Four Seasons hotel in January 1996, with 65 rooms around a walled garden courtyard. Wikipedia says it closed for renovation in 2020; Business Class reported it welcoming guests again in August 2022. Source Source Source Source Source Reported

Seen Aug 2022: Business Class article dated 15 August 2022 says the hotel, after a major refurbishment, ‘has started to welcome guests’. A search on 10 November 2026 found current listings but no newer dated report or photo. Source Reported

More photos

A vaulted corridor with a polished marble floor and wall lamps inside the Four Seasons Hotel at Sultanahmet in Istanbul, the former jail, March 2008
2008 A vaulted marble corridor insidePhoto: Gryffindor / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
A small yellow corner tower with arched windows on top of the old stone wall of the former Sultanahmet Jail, now the Four Seasons Hotel in Istanbul, 2012
2012 A corner tower on the old jail wallPhoto: Николай Максимович / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

💡 4 things to know

  1. Who was the architect?
    Bellek Mekanlari says Vedat Tek is thought to be the architect. Anadolu Agency says some records name Mimar Kemalettin Bey and others Vedat Tek; Columbia’s MCID lists Mimar Kemaleddin Bey. Source Source Source Conflicting
  2. Cell walls torn down
    Anadolu Agency says walls between former cells were torn down to create spacious rooms when the hotel opened in 1996. Source Reported
  3. Prison ironwork in the chairs
    According to Four Seasons, the courtyard is enclosed by stone walls and guard towers, and in the renovation designed by Goddard Littlefair the sides of the armchairs use iron bars from prisons. Source Reported
  4. The first Ottoman capital jail
    Wikipedia and Four Seasons describe it as the first jailhouse in the Ottoman capital; writers including Nazim Hikmet were held there. Source Source Checked

📍 Where it is

Tevkifhane Sokak No. 1, 34110 Sultanahmet-Eminönü, Istanbul. Source Reported

Open in Maps

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 196925 Jan

    Wikipedia: jail abandoned (others: 1955-56, 1986)

  2. 1996Jan

    Hotel opens (Four Seasons)

  3. 2008

    Hotel photo, March (Commons)

  4. 2008

    A vaulted marble corridor inside · Commons

  5. 201228 Oct

    Hotel photo (Commons, panoramio)

  6. 2020

    Closed for renovation (Wikipedia)

  7. 202215 Aug

    Guests welcomed again (Business Class)

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Architect
Disputed: Vedat Tek (Bellek, AA) or Mimar Kemalettin (AA, Columbia MCID) Source Source Source Conflicting
Prison closed
Disputed: 1969 (Wikipedia, Hafiza Merkezi), abandoned 1955-56 (AA), 1986 (Bellek Mekanlari) Source Source Source Source Conflicting
Hotel opened
January 1996 (Four Seasons) Source Source Source Source Source Checked
Rooms
65 rooms and suites Source Source Source Checked
Reopened after renovation
Wikipedia: 1 December 2021. Four Seasons: ‘reopening in 2022’. Business Class (Aug 2022): guests being welcomed again Source Source Source Conflicting
Operator
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Source Source Checked
Renovation designer
Goddard Littlefair, according to Four Seasons Source Reported
Address
Tevkifhane Sokak No. 1, 34110 Sultanahmet-Eminonu, Istanbul Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 10 November 2026. How we verify art