The history of the site of the Armada Hotel in the ancient district of Ah?rkap? extends back to the 16th century, when the Turkish Admiral Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha, known in the West as Barbarossa, had a series of buildings constructed to house his sailors after their long days at sea and perhaps to keep them in sight of the sea as well! The buildings were destroyed in one of the great fires of Istanbul during the 18th century. The 16 separate houses that were constructed in their place at the beginning of the 19th century to generate revenue for the Directorate of Foundations eventually fell into ruin, and by the 1980s the area was being used as a parking lot.The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Armada International Hotel Corporation, experienced tourism professional Kas?m Zoto, obtained a 49-year lease from the Directorate of Foundations for the purpose of transforming the property into a 4 star hotel