Exhibition at BME Showcases the Legacy of Hungarian Builders of the Early Turkish Republic

“I am certain we’ll have students who will write their doctoral dissertations on this project” – said Tamás Varga, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, at the opening of the exhibition which presents interdisciplinary research on the so-called Hungarian houses in the city of Milas in southwestern Türkiye.

The research project began during the 2025 Hungarian-Turkish Year of Science and Innovation with the support of the local Hungarian cultural center, Liszt Institute. Last summer, BME faculty and students surveyed a Hungarian house (pictured below) in Milas and, both on-site and back home, researched its Hungarian-related artifacts, uncovered the historical and cultural context of its origins, and their findings are now presented at the exhibition.

But how did “Hungarian houses” end up in this small town not far from the Aegean Sea? In the 1920s, following the proclamation of the secular Turkish republic, many professionals arrived from Hungary to participate in the country’s modernization. Among them were engineers and construction workers who were engaged in the design and construction of numerous buildings from Ankara to Istanbul to Milas. The story of most houses are still remembered by locals, and the trained eye can easily identify their distinctive features that stand out from their surroundings.

There is Milas

“Turkish society remembers the contribution of Hungarian professionals to the development of the young republic, including its buildings. Locals often still refer to these as ‘Hungarian houses,’ which clearly demonstrates just how close the two peoples actually are,” said Ambassador Gülşen Karanis Ekşioğlu, for whom Máté Gergő Kovács, the Istanbul cultural attaché and one of the project’s initiators, who earned his architecture degree at BME, served as interpreter.

Máté Gergő Kovács (left) and the ambassador

The research led to a Hungarian-Turkish university collaboration aimed at preserving these memorial sites; additionally, during an academic workshop, the most detailed documentation possible — including a manual survey and a 3D point cloud — was compiled for one of the most characteristic Hungarian buildings in Milas. A documentary film titled “Friendship Carved in Stone” was produced by Tamer Gerek, a staff member of the Liszt Institute in Istanbul, and was screened for attendees following the opening ceremony.

“I admire the Faculty of Architecture’s drive in organizing so many events.

We can be proud of this project, just as we are of the great Hungarian architects who graduated from here,”

said Charaf Hassan, rector of BME, at the opening ceremony. He noted that there are an increasing number of international students at BME, with a particularly large number coming from Türkiye to study here.

Hassan Charaf

The exhibition can be viewed on the second floor of Building K, in front of the Szkéné theater.

Project participants:

Zsuzsanna Emília Kiss (BME Department of Architectural History and Historic Preservation), Rita Pataky, Mátyás Egri (BME Department of Building Structures), Melek Çolak, Zühre Sözeri Yıldırım (Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University), Éva Püski (BME Directorate of Education), Judit Püski (BME Department of Material Handling and Logistics Systems), Máté Gergő Kovács, Áron Sipos, Tamer Gerek (Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center, Istanbul), Péter Kövecsi-Oláh (NKE), as well as Zsigmond Bényei, Mira Bolya, Zsófia Csótai, Dániel Fálmann, András József Nacsády, Kinga Nagy, and Eszter Júlia Pintér, students of the Faculty of Architecture at BME.

Rector’s Office, Communications Directorate
photos: Képkocka Media Group