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Küçüksu Pavilion (Küçüksu Kasrı) is a small palace in Istanbul, Turkey. It’s located just south of Anadolu Hisarı, in a place the Ottomans called “The Sweet Waters of Asia”.
The Sweet Waters of Asia
In a meadow between two creeks on the Asian side of the Bosporus in old Constantinople, the 19th century Ottoman elite would gather to pass the time away in this place of natural beauty. These two creeks are called Göksu Creek (Göksu Deresi) and Küçüksu Creek (Küçüksu Deresi) and were affectionately known by the Ottomans as “The Sweet Waters of Asia”.
Nowadays, the natural beauty has been replaced with ugly modern apartment buildings and other structures stretching up into the once green hills. But to this day, any visitor to the area could imagine why this area would be called “The Sweet Waters of Asia” (although the water doesn’t look that sweet anymore).
In addition to being an Ottoman playground, there are two very important Ottoman structures from extremely different periods in Ottoman history located there. One is Anadolu Fortress in Anadolu Hisarı, and the other is Küçüksu Pavilion. Neither are often visited by tourists, but both are interesting and within easy walking distance of one another.
Küçüksu Pavilion
Next to Küçüksu Creek is the small palace flaunting the wealth of the late Ottoman Empire. It was completed in 1857 for Sultan Abdülmecid I. It was built over an older wooden palace completed during the reign of Mahmud I in the early 18th century. Even the Sultan wanted to spend time at “The Sweet Waters of Asia”.
Küçüksu Pavilion is made of marble and was used as a summer palace. It was designed by Ottoman Armenian architect Nigoğayos Balyan (1826-1858). French painter and theatre designer Charles Séchan decorated the interior.
During the reign of Abdülaziz, the exterior façade of the palace was made more elaborate. This can be seen especially on the side facing the Bosporus.
On the north side of the palace is a fountain that remains from the older palace. The Mihrişah Valide Sultan Fountain (Mihrişah Valide Sultan Çeşmesi) was erected in 1796. It’s named after Mihrişah Sultan (1745-1805), the consort of Mustafa III and mother of Selim III.
Visiting
The pavilion has been a museum since 1983. It’s open to visitors daily from 9am to 6pm daily except Mondays. Admission for foreigners is 130₺ and includes a complimentary audioguide (as of March 2024). Guests are given plastic galoshes to put over their shoes in order to protect the floor. Photos are not allowed inside. Click here for a virtual tour. Admission to the grounds only is 60₺ (as of March 2024).
Getting There
The easiest way to get to Küçüksu Pavilion is through Üsküdar. Take a ferry to Üsküdar and walk to the Üsküdar Cami Önü stop (in front of the mosque across the street from the ferry terminal). Hop on pretty much any bus with a number 15 until you reach the Küçüksu Kasrı stop. You can also take a dolmuş going to Beykoz and ask the driver to let you out at Küçüksu Pavilion – it’s much faster than the bus.
If you’re on the European side, there’s a ferry service to Küçüksu from Kabataş and Beşiktaş on the Istanbul City Ferry Lines (İstanbul Şehir Hatları), but it isn’t frequent or convenient.
