Boğaziçi’nde, 17 yüzyıldan itibaren sahil şeridinde yer alan kıyı yapılarıyla ve köy içi yerleşimleriyle kendine özgü bir yaşam kültürü kurulmuştur. Bu kapsamda, Ortaköy ve Arnavutköy arasındaki Boğaziçi dilimine, 17. yüzyıldan itibaren pek çok sahilsaray ve sahilhane inşa edilmiştir. Özellikle bu sahil, 18. yüzyıldan itibaren hanedan ailesinin ve üst düzey ailelerin sahilsaray ve sahilhanelerine ev sahipliği yapmıştır. Ortaköy ile Kuruçeşme kıyı şeridinde yer alan yalılar, özellikle 19 yüzyıl başından, 20 yüzyıl başına kadar farklı dönemler içinde yıkılmış, yanmış, el değiştirmiştir. Kuruçeşme koyundaki siluet değişimi, 19. yüzyıldan itibaren haritalarda, gravürlerde, fotoğraflarda net olarak görülmektedir. 19. yüzyıl başında Fauvel’ın ve Melling’in resmettiği, 19. yüzyıl ortalarında Kargopoulo’nun, Abdullah Freres’in, Sebah&Joaillier’in ve 20. yüzyıl başlarında Miralay Ali Sami’nin fotoğraflarındaki bu yapılardan günümüze, birkaç yalı kalmıştır. Boğaziçi mimari kültürünün yeterince anlaşılabilmesi ve geçirdiği evrimlerin değerlendirilebilmesi gerekmektedir. Boğaziçi mimarisinin tarihsel süreç içinde edindiği kamusal imgesi ve kimliğinin sanat, kültür ve mimari ile yenilenmesi ve desteklenmesi önemlidir. Boğaziçi yalıları, koruları, köşkleri ve kültürü ile pek çok sembolik değerleri üzerinde taşımaktadır. Bu sebeple, Boğaziçi kültürel ve doğal peyzajının korunması ve sürdürülmesi desteklenmektedir. Boğaziçi’nin özgün dokusunu bozmadan yapılaşmak, tarihsel yapılaşmayı korumak ve güzelleştirmek ülkemizin geleceği için önem taşımaktadır.

On the Bosphorus shores beginning from the 17th century, an original kind of living was formed with its palace, yalı (seaside house), grove, recreation site, fountain and mosque building. This shore had especially been a host for the palaces of the dynasty family from the 18th century on. Many seaside house was built by some famous architect. For example Nazime Sultan Yali's (seaside house) was built by famous Italian architect D'Aranco and Hatice Sultan Yali's was built by Melling. Even if all of the yalis on Bosphorus coast share similarities with each other by their general characteristics, every one of them have been a specific. Nonetheless, the size and particularities of the yalis have been planned so to reflect their proprietors social and economic status. The segregation of harem and selamlık [portion of the house reserved for men and women] has been observed in big yalis on Bosporus strip at the end of the 18th century. These yalis included two separate independent yet connected parts as harem and selamlık. Many of the yalis, built with timber, according to Melling drawings are wooden structures, belonging to the court family, statesmen and may be considered as early examples of Bosphorus palaces. That the palaces and yalis have been are built few and far between on the coast during this period is documented by the map, realized by Kauffer between 1776 and 1786. It is being observed that the construction at Bosphorus surged, beginning from the onset of the 19th century. The names of yali owners, recorded on Bostancıbaşı’s (Chief Gardener) pertaining to 1790 and the years of 1814–1815 have been a considerable resource regarding these periods. The Bosphorus became an extension of the city in the 19th century. The Bosphorus villages have lost their quality of summer resort and become suburbs. Having said that, the smoothing of transport circumstances and the fact that Şirket-i Hayriye [the maritime transport company of Istanbul during late Ottoman era] started regular services as from the year 1852, rendered the Bosphorus settlements, areas inhabited throughout the year. Bartlett’s gravures of the year 1840 demonstrate the intense wooden structuring in the zone. And photograph came into the life of the Ottoman, as of the middle of the 19th century. The harem and selamlık sections in the yali, situated on Bosporus coast have begun to get gradually combined as of mid- 19th century. Harem and selamlık side by side, by vertical or horizontal segregation ensued. Besides that, the construction at the shape of rectangular masses; stretching up to a hundred meters in parallel to the sea are observed in many yalis in this century. While part of the Bosphorus yalis, figuring on BostancıBaşı’s (Chief Gardener) Ledger, pertaining to the 19th century, survived the end of 19th century, some others have been destroyed or consumed in fires. The coastal palaces, built on the Bosphorus coastal strip at the end of the 19th century have usually composed of two floors and a penthouse made of wood upon masonry first floor. These coastal palaces became distant from the traditional in their plan and facades, and built in a symmetrical systematized scheme that was commonly used in Istanbul at the end of the 19th century. Nonetheless, it is being observed that the dimensions of the yalis( seaside hosues), built on the shoreline at the Bosphorus at the end of the 19th century started to diminish. Yalıs (seaside houses) located on the Bosphorus, especially from the beginning of the 19.century to the start of the 20th century, in various periods had been demolished, burned or had changed hands. The change of silhouette is seen clearly at the gravures, maps and photographs. From the gravures drawn by Fauvel and Melling at the beginning of the 19th century, from the photographs of Kargopoulo, Abdullah Freres, Sebah&Joaillier in mid 19th century and Miralay Ali Sami at the beginning of the 20th century, of these buildings only a few yalıs a