Küçüksu Pavilion

Overview

On the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, not far from the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, a small white palace sits at the water’s edge. Its front is carved like lace, a white iron fence circles its garden, and the old fortress of Anadoluhisarı stands a few steps away. At first glance, it looks almost too pretty to be real. This is Küçüksu Pavilion, a sultan’s summer retreat on the Bosphorus. Our Beylerbeyi Palace tour stops here.

So look out for it from the boat, then come back by land to step inside.

Küçüksu Pavilion on the Asian Shore

To begin with, the pavilion stands in the Küçüksu neighborhood of Beykoz, between Anadoluhisarı and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. Its name means Little Water, after a stream nearby, and it is also called the Göksu Pavilion. The sultans did not live here. Instead, they came for a few hours or a few days, during outings in the country and hunting trips.

History of Küçüksu Pavilion

A Balyan palace for Abdülmecid

Sultan Abdülmecid I commissioned the pavilion from the palace architects Garabet Amira Balyan and his son Nigoğayos Balyan, the same family behind Dolmabahçe. Finally, it was finished in 1857 in a rich neo-baroque style. Before it, a two-story wooden palace from the 18th century stood on the site and served several sultans.

From guesthouse to museum

Later, Sultan Abdülaziz added even more decoration to the facades. In the early years of the Republic, the pavilion served as a state guesthouse. After a restoration begun in 1992, it reopened as a museum in 1996.

What to See at Küçüksu Pavilion

The rooms

Inside, the plan follows a traditional Turkish house, with four corner rooms around a central hall on each floor. What is more, every room has a fireplace of colorful Italian marble, and those facing the water have two. Above, crystal chandeliers from Bohemia hang from painted and gilded ceilings, while curtains, upholstery and carpets came from the imperial looms of Hereke.

A stage designer’s touch

The interior decoration was entrusted to Charles Séchan, a stage designer from the Vienna State Opera. Thanks to him, the rooms feel a little like a theater set, bright, rich and full of detail.

The garden and its fence

Unlike most palace gardens, which hide behind high walls, Küçüksu’s garden is open to view behind cast-iron railings, with one gate on each side.

Gümüş Selvi, the Garden Before the Pavilion

Long before the pavilion, the land between the Küçüksu and Göksu streams was one of the sultan’s private gardens. Sultan Murad IV loved it and called it Gümüş Selvi, the Silver Cypress, and from the 17th century writers knew it as the Göksu Garden. Under Mahmud I, the court official Divitdâr Emin Mehmed Pasha built a two-story wooden palace on the shore, which later sultans repaired. Then Abdülmecid had it pulled down and raised the present stone pavilion, 15 by 27 m (49 by 89 ft). Much later, a restoration begun in 1992 kept the building from slipping into the sea, and today a café by the pier and the fountain square brings back the old picnic ground. To see it with other palaces of the strait, join our Bosphorus museums tour.

How to Visit Küçüksu Pavilion

Getting there

In general, buses run north along the Asian shore road from Üsküdar and stop nearby. Tickets and opening days are set by the National Palaces, and we arrange your entry around them.

Seeing it with us

You pass Küçüksu on our Bosphorus tour and on a Bosphorus cruise. For a full day of palaces on the Asian side, add Beylerbeyi Palace, and for its neighbor, visit Anadoluhisarı. Fans of film locations will enjoy our guide to Istanbul in the movies.