Kurabiye Palas “Hacı Memiş” is the founding quarter of Alaçatı, and Dutlu
Square is one of the most special spots of Alaçatı.
At the very corner of the square, there is a Greek Mansion with all its elegance. When the Greeks founded this town, which was called “Alatsata” by them, they built this mansion for their rulers in 1821. A very special and unique building with everything.
With its high ceiling (approaching 4 meters), old wooden floors and special ceiling decorations, the building invites you to a journey into the depths of history. When you enter, Madame Despinas and Kathyes greet you first; from another room, Mustafa Bayraktar and his wife Havva Hanım, who came with the population exchange from the Balkans, say “Welcome” through the doorway.
Mustafa Ağa came to this mansion from Thessaloniki with his family in 1923. He has two sons and three daughters. He divides the mansion among the men of the family. One of their sons, Ali, comes from Thessaloniki with his father at the age of 7 and later marries Adile Hanım. The little boy Hayrettin, on the other hand, was married with Hayriye Hanım after his older brother.
Grandfather, grandmother, sons and grandchildren shared life in this mansion for years, until Hayriye Hanım passed away. Afterwards, the house was left to its fate for 10 years.
And one day, Uncle Recep (Recep Ertuğrul) falls in love with this mansion, and after trying for a whole year to bring together 68 shareholders, he becomes the new owner of the mansion.
Renovation in a registered building is not easy. It takes a long time to obtain the necessary permits and then the restoration works. This beautiful building later hosted businesses such as Unter, Hacımemiş Palas, and Köyün Delisi etc.
The year is 2022. One day, with a message on our phone, this magical, Alaçatı’s most iconic building is requested to be entrusted to the “Perihan Abla” of Hacımemiş. We gather as the Akbulut family and we accept this offer without hesitation in order to bring the old spirit to the Hacı Memiş neighborhood, which we have worked so hard for.
This decision meets us with the place we fell in love, after a feverish preparation period and months of meticulous repair, we managed to bring to life the four magnificent rooms on the upper floor of the building, which smells of history, as KURABİYE PALAS, and we carry our DONDURMİNO shop which is a part of our family and the place which met Alaçatı with real Italian Gelato 8 years ago on the corner shop of the ground floor.
Our aim is to protect the history of this building, to those who built it, to preserve it and to carry it to the future, to share this unique structure with you and to find a place also among your memories.
We will be very happy to host you in this unique building that you can feel all this history inside.
Akbulut Family