History of Komboglu Family

Komboglu Ali Efendi build this konak around 1880s who was the youngest sibling of 3 brothers. The last bride of the Komboglu konak, who is my grandmother told this story that his father was proud to say: "My son can feed his family on this rocky land." And he gave his least fertile lands to his youngest.

I am the fifth-generation owner of this house. Komboglu Ali Efendi, who adopted the Atabey family name following the enactment of the Turkish Republic's surname law, had five children. His son, Faik Atabey, inherited the mansion and the family business. Some of his siblings lived with him in the mansion, following the old tradition in North Eastern families to live together due to the landscape conditions. My grandfather Hikmet Atabey had three siblings, and they all lived in the mansion with aunts and cousins, even after he married to my grandmother, known as "the last bride" (I humorously think that she is the last air-bender:)). She moved into this house and lived here for almost 20 years before they relocated to an apartment in the city.

This picture is from 2010 and this is the last picture before the original mansion collapsed in 2012. This is the Southern side, which is the front garden.

My parents moved to Istanbul for education and stayed there after graduated. Same with two other siblings of my father. the mansion was left behind unattended for years. After collapsed they decided the honor the legacy and build a new one inspired from the original mansion.

Check out our podcast with the last bride.

Grandmother moved to an apartment in the 1980s. It is in the city 5 minute car drive away from the mansion. We always came to this house but not inside. The gardens, there are orange and tangerine trees, vegetables growing and the graveyards close by.  I always liked to play here.