Aynalıkavak Pavilion

About Aynalıkavak Pavilion

Pavilion in Turkey

The Aynalikavak Pavilion (Aynalikavak Kasri) is a former Ottoman pavilion in the Haskoy neighbourhood of Beyoglu in Istanbul, on the slopes above the Golden Horn, administered today by the Directorate of National Palaces. It was begun in the reign of Sultan Ahmed I (1603–1617), around 1613, and altered and extended over time, most notably by the art-loving Sultan Selim III (1789–1807); it is the only intact building surviving from the reign of Ahmed III. This small pavilion is all that remains of what was once the fourth-largest palace complex in Istanbul, which stretched down to the banks of the Golden Horn, now occupied by the derelict buildings of the closed shipyard. Its name, "mirrored poplar", is said to come from huge mirrors gifted by Venice to the palace in the eighteenth century, "as tall as the poplars". The interior is highly decorative and colourful, with rooms keeping their original furnishings fit for a sultan, some inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and walls adorned with Ottoman poems praising the palace and Selim III, himself a composer and poet. Downstairs is a small museum of Turkish classical music displaying violins, ouds, kamanchehs and gramophone records that belonged to Fatma Gevheri Sultan (1904–1980), granddaughter of Sultan Abdulaziz. Around the pavilion lies a beautiful garden of pools and mature cedars and magnolias, with a domed old main gate that once opened towards the Golden Horn.

Where:

Istanbul, Türkiye