Uybadın Mansion: Lost 1925 Ankara Landmark

The Ghost of Kızılay: A Mansion That Vanished

Ankara, the young capital of the new Turkish Republic in 1923, was a city of ambitious plans and swift change. In the heart of that transformation, on what is now Ziya Gökalp Avenue near today's Kızılay Square, once stood a grand mansion that almost no one remembers. The Uybadın Mansion rose in the Yenişehir district, in an area then called Kurtuluş Square, and it vanished so completely that even longtime locals now associate the spot with a department store and a skyscraper instead.

The structure was a striking sight. Built between 1925 and 1926, the mansion featured four stories including its tower, a statement of elegance in a city still finding its architectural footing. It belonged to Cemil Uybadın, a name that carries a small historical twist. Popular accounts often describe him as Minister of Interior, but records actually show he served as Minister of Public Works, a different post entirely. The distinction matters to those who track Ankara's political history, though the mansion's fate proved far more dramatic than any title.

In the decades that followed, the building's story grew murky. After Uybadın's death, the mansion reportedly passed to the Water Administration in 1957, according to the original account, though the details of that transfer remain uncertain. What is clearer is the outcome. The structure eventually moved to the Pension Fund and was demolished in the late 1970s, not before the 1960s as some versions of the tale suggest. In its place rose the Emek Business Center, widely considered Turkey's first skyscraper, a towering successor that erased nearly every trace of the home that came before it.

Today, the site hums with the energy of one of Ankara's busiest intersections. The Gima department store once occupied the space, and the Emek Business Center now anchors the corner. But for those who know where to look, the ghost of the Uybadın Mansion lingers in old photographs, a quiet reminder that even the most prominent buildings can slip entirely from a city's memory.

A Minister's Grand Home: Built in 1925

In 1925, construction began on what would become one of Ankara's most striking residences: the Uybadın Mansion. Built for Cemil Uybadın, a prominent figure in the young Turkish Republic, the mansion rose on what is now Ziya Gökalp Avenue in the Kızılay district. It was a four-story structure, complete with a tower, and contemporaries described it as both "magnificent" and "imposing."

The exact title Uybadın held is a matter of some confusion. Many accounts refer to him as the Interior Minister, but records more consistently point to his role as Minister of Public Works. Either way, he was a man of considerable standing in the new capital, and his home reflected that status.

Ankara in the mid-1920s was a city being built from the ground up. The republic had chosen it as its capital, and architects were racing to give it a modern, confident face. The Uybadın Mansion stood as a symbol of this early republican architecture, a bold statement of the new era's ambitions. Its tower and grand proportions made it a landmark on the avenue, a visual anchor in a rapidly changing cityscape.

The building's life, however, would be shorter than its grandeur suggested. As the story goes, after Uybadın's death in 1957, the mansion was handed over to the Water Administration. From there, it was reportedly transferred to the Pension Fund. Contrary to the popular version that claims it was demolished before the 1960s, the mansion actually stood until the late 1970s, when it was finally torn down to make way for something new.

Today, almost nothing remains of that grand home. The site it once occupied is now part of the bustling heart of Ankara, a place where thousands pass daily without knowing what once stood there. But for a brief moment in the republic's early years, the Uybadın Mansion was a symbol of what the new Turkey wanted to be: modern, ambitious, and unafraid to reach for the sky.

The Fall: From Mansion to Memory

The Uybadın Mansion's quiet years ended with a sequence of events that remains frustratingly murky. According to the original account, after Cemil Uybadın's death in 1957, the property was reportedly handed over to the Water Administration, then later transferred to the Pension Fund. From there, the story splits into competing versions that no one has been able to fully reconcile.

Some accounts insist the mansion was demolished before the 1960s ever arrived, a casualty of the capital's rapid modernization. Other reports suggest the building actually stood well into the late 1970s, watching the city grow up around it before the wrecking crews finally moved in. The exact date, the precise sequence of ownership changes, even the year of Uybadın's death itself: all of it shifts depending on who is telling the story.

What makes this confusion so fitting is that the mansion always carried an air of mystery. Photographs from the era show it standing proudly on what was then Kurtuluş Square, a four-story structure with a distinctive tower, built between 1925 and 1926. It was an elegant presence in the young republic's brand-new capital, and then it was simply gone.

What replaced it is easier to pin down. The Emek Business Center, widely cited as Turkey's first skyscraper, rose on the same ground. The contrast could not have been starker: where a stately mansion once offered shade and ornament, a soaring glass tower now announced Ankara's ambitions. The old building's disappearance, whatever the true timeline, marked the end of an era when the city still felt small enough for a single grand house to anchor a neighborhood.

The Rise of Turkey's First Skyscraper

Where the Uybadın Mansion once stood in central Ankara, the Emek Business Center now rises as a structure widely recognized as Turkey's first skyscraper. The old mansion, built between 1925 and 1926, gave way to this modern tower on Ziya Gökalp Avenue near today's Kızılay Square. The transformation erased a piece of the young republic's architectural history.

The mansion belonged to Cemil Uybadın, who served as Minister of Public Works in the early years of the Turkish Republic. It was a grand residence with four stories including its tower, sitting on what was then called Kurtuluş Square. In those days, Ankara was still finding its identity as the new capital, and buildings like this one showed the ambition of the era. The mansion stood as a symbol of private wealth and political prominence in a city being rebuilt from the ground up.

According to the original account, after Uybadın's death in 1957, the property was handed over to the Water Administration and later transferred to the Pension Fund before being demolished. The exact timing of these transfers remains uncertain, and contrary to some versions, the mansion was not torn down before the 1960s. The demolition happened later, clearing the land for something entirely new.

The building that replaced it, the Emek Business Center, changed Ankara's skyline forever. The source reports 24 floors and 76 meters, though other records indicate the tower actually has 28 floors and stands about 90 to 92 meters tall. Either way, it marked a turning point: the first true skyscraper in Turkish history, rising where a quiet mansion had once stood.

Today, few people walking through Kızılay realize they are standing where a family home once overlooked the city. The Emek Business Center, formerly known as the Gima building, became the landmark of modern Ankara. The old mansion faded from memory, its photographs now the only evidence that it ever existed. The contrast could not be sharper: one generation's grand residence became the next generation's foundation for a tower that pointed toward the future.