‘Akaretler row houses’ are situated in Besiktas district in Istanbul. The row houses have been ordered by Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz to architect Sarkis Balyan in 1874 and consist of 138 housing units. They were originally built for the accommodation of the workers of Dolmabahce Palace. ‘Akaretler row houses’ are one of the most important examples in Istanbul of this housing option.

The owner of the houses was General Directorate of Foundations. The houses have changed habitants many times. They used to be rented for many years as houses to low income earners, car repairers, traditional grocery keepers. They were also used by a political party and also by Faculty of Fine Arts in 1980’s. Afterwards, they have been abandoned until about 1995 when they have been restorated and renovated to be rented again. Finally, restoration and renovation of the row houses complex was finished in 2008. In this complex, 56 residences in different sizes, 34 shops and also W Hotel were opened.
The area of the row houses is situated in between Besiktas and Nisantasi on a steep ramp. One of the end of the row houses is Besiktas which is an traditional districkt, whereas the other end is a trendy zone called Nisantasi. Soon after the opening in 2008, many of the high society shops have been changed into coffee shops and bars mostly thanks to the location. When you walk down to Besiktas passing through the row houses you can find trendy bars, coffee shops, jewellery shops, antiquarie shop, W hotel, shops like Marni, Bottega Veneta... Arriving down to Besiktas you find traditional restaurants such as döner, pide, traditional coffee shops, fish markets… a mixture of colours, lights, odors of the East that compete with Western way of communication of ‘Akaretler row houses’.