European side · Sarıyer
Maslak Pavilions
The country retreat where the future Abdülhamid II lived as a prince.
Photographs of this palace are coming soon.
History
Sultan Abdülaziz had the pavilions built in the 1860s and in 1868 gave them to his nephew, Prince Abdülhamid. The name comes from the “maslak”, the water-distribution cisterns of the area.
Abdülhamid lived here as a prince and was living here when he was called to the throne in 1876. He bred horses, farmed and bought up the land around it; in his reign the estate was known as the imperial farms of Maslak. Memoirs say he taught his children music, wrote poems and compositions, and worked in a carpentry shop here.
From 1937 to 1982 the site served as a military sanatorium. It opened as a museum house after restoration in 1984.
What to see
The main pavilions
The Kasr-ı Hümayun (the private house) and the Mabeyn-i Hümayun (the reception pavilion), on the plan of a Turkish house.
The Viewing Pavilion
From here mounted exercises in the grounds were watched.
The estate
A bath, the stables, the kitchen, a telegraph room, a water tank and a greenhouse for tropical plants in a garden of about 170,000 m².
Before you go
- A garden-only ticket is sold.
- It lies well north of the historic centre; plan it as its own trip.
Questions
Which day are the Maslak Pavilions closed?
Monday.