Diamond of Istanbul

Stalled high-rise project in Istanbul's Maslak district since 2009 — an unfinished concrete frame that became a city curiosity.

The Diamond of Istanbul was an ambitious high-rise project on Büyükdere Avenue in the Maslak business district of Istanbul. At a planned height of 280 meters, it was intended to become the tallest building in Turkey and in the entire Mediterranean region. Construction was halted in 2009; since then, an unfinished reinforced concrete frame has stood at a prominent location with no visible progress. The project was part of a real estate boom that aimed to transform Istanbul with ambitious towers in the 2000s. The construction stoppage had financial and legal causes that were never fully clarified publicly. The building has since changed names and project identifiers several times; more recent reports refer to a new beginning as "Etro Residences-Rams Beyond." The half-finished frame is today an unusual landmark in the Maslak district and an inadvertent monument to Istanbul's construction ambitions of the early 2000s.