BEYKOZ PAVILION

The construction of Beykoz Pavilion started by the order of Mehmed Ali Pahsa, Governor of Egypt in 1845 and upon his death completed in 1854 by the order of his son as a present to Sultan Abdülmecid who used to go Beykoz Çayırı and Tokat Promenade on the hills of Hünkar İskelesi. As it was dedicated to Sultan Abdülmecid, it’s also called Mecidiye Pavilion. It’s situated on the top of a grove park with a landscape design of layered terraces beginning from the seaside. In its early days Sultan was used here as a short time residence while riding in the area, but later foreign statesmen and ambassadors were received there. Although it was meant to be an imperial building because of its uptown location and pleasant weather it was assigned for public service even in Ottoman period and became an orphanage. In 1920s it became a preventorium and then a Chest Diseases Hospital for children until 1999 when it was taken over by Head Department of National Palaces and restoration works began to open it to public as a museum. The two-storeyed, half-timbered building has a symmetrical plan and neo-classical façade and designed as a hall in the middle with rooms surrounded. Photographs of the pavilion taken during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II reveal its rich decoration with gilded furnitures, upholsteries and curtains of Hereke fabrics, Baccarat vases and big crystal chandeliers.There’s a resting pavilion in the garden, known as “Mountain Hamam (ancient Turkish bath)”; its inner walls are covered with oyster shells.