Edwards Villa

Edwards Villa, known in Turkish as Murat Köşkü, is a building in Bornova, İzmir. The Edwards family built it in 1880 as their own residence, and after Charles Edwards died it was renamed Murat Villa. Local government expropriated it in 1980, and in 1983 it was transferred to the General Directorate of the Social Services Society for the Protection of Children. A comprehensive restoration project begun in 2001 lasted fifteen years; after restoration in 2005 the villa was given to Ege University, and it now serves as a cafeteria and community centre. It stands at no. 4, 66th Street in the Erzene neighbourhood, opposite the Anglican church of St. Mary Magdalene. The facade is symmetrical, accentuated by double entrance doors, and a porch with Ionic columns is approached by a double staircase typical of the Italian architecture used throughout the structure. Inside, plaster and wood ornaments, animal motifs on the ceilings and black-and-white marble plaques in the ground-floor hall decorate the rooms.