Emirgan is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Sarñyer, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 8,052 (2024). It is a leafy, middle-class suburb of Istanbul, on the western shore of the Bosphorus north of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (Second Bosphorus Bridge).
City bus lines 22, 22RE, 25E, 40T and 42T stop in Emirgan. Infrequent à Âehir Hatlarñ ferries connect Emirgan with Eminönü, Beà Âiktaà Â, Arnavutköy, Bebek, ðstinye, Büyükdere, Sarñyer and Rumeli KavaÃÂñ. A separate ferry service links it to ÃÂengelköy, Kandilli, Anadolu Hisarñ and Kanlñca. Small private boats also travel back and forth between Emirgan and Kanlñca depending on demand.
The neighborhood is named after Emir Güne Han. In 1635 the Iranian Emir Güne Han surrendered Yerevan to Sultan Murad IV in return for which the sultan took him to Istanbul, renamed him Yusuf Paà Âa and gave him 50 hectares of woodland that is now the Emirgan Park. Once Murad died his successor Sultan Ibrahim the Mad had Yusuf put to death. Later Sultan Abdülaziz gave the woods to the Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Paà Âa, who added three pavilions to the grounds.
A string of popular tea gardens cluster round the main square and run along the coast road.
Emirgan Woods (Turkish: Emirgan Korusu) rise above the suburb and cover an area of around 500,000 square metres of what is now public park. The park is at its best in April during the annual Istanbul Tulip Festival when thousands of bulbs come into colourful flower here. The three pavilions created by Khedive ðsmail Paà Âa - the Yellow (Sarñ), Pink (Pembe) and White (Beyaz) kiosks - now serve as cafes and restaurants for visitors. The Yellow Pavilion was designed by the Turkish-Armenian architect Sarkis Balyan in the 1870s.
Overlooking the Bosphorus in peaceful and beautiful gardens, this private museum contains permanent collections of calligraphy, antique furniture and fine art which are regularly supplemented with short-term exhibitions showcasing everyone from Pablo Picasso through to Abdülmecid Efend, the artistic last caliph of the Ottoman Empire.
The à Âerifler Yalñ stands on the inland side of the coast road as you come into Emirgan from the centre of town; before the road was built in 1940 it would have stood right beside the water like so many of the yalñs (waterside mansions). Built sometime during the 18th century, it is the oldest surviving yalñ on the European side of the Bosphorus and belonged at one time to . The yalñ probably stands on the site of a 17th-century mansion built for Emir Güne Han after whom the suburb was named. It now serves as offices for several historical monument conservation bodies and the Historic Towns Union (Tarihi Kentler BirliÃÂi) but is not open to the public.
The waterside Hamid Evvel Mosque was built in 1838 beside what is now the plane-tree-shaded main square of Emirgan. Facing it across the square, the timekeeper's cottage, added in 1844, now serves as a cafe.