KÜÇÜKSU PAVILION (KÜÇÜKSU KASRI)
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The Göksu River is bordered by wooden houses, gardens that the Ottomans call hasbahçe, they like to go there by boat, in the company of musicians... Its reputation is such that the Westerners call the river "Fresh waters of Asia", which seems difficult to imagine today when you follow this river suffocated by pollution. Divittar Mehmet Paşa decided to have a small two-storey wooden palace built there in 1749 for his Sultan Mahmud I (1730-1754). The fountain in his backyard dates back to that time. Abdülmecid's arrival in power (1839-1861) was the beginning of Westernization but also the era when Istanbul had many palaces, some of whose architects came from the same family, the Balyans. He had the original wooden one replaced by the current marble pavilion that can be seen. Inaugurated in 1857, it was designed as a secondary residence, where the sultan would come to rest or hunt. This is reflected in the architecture: no impassable walls, but a more homely spirit. The decorator of the Vienna Opera will be invited to Istanbul to bring the elegance of Western palaces. On the occasion of his visit to Turkey in 1861, Abdülaziz organized a dinner in honour of King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales. The Republic (1923) also used it for a time for distinguished guests and, like all the other imperial residences in the city, it was transformed into a museum.
