Küçüksu Pavilion

Küçüksu Pavilion, or the “Palace of the Little Water,” stands on Istanbul’s Asian shore beside the Bosphorus near Anadolu Hisarı. Its name refers to the two streams on the grounds, Göksu and Küçüksu. A wooden hunting lodge of Sultan Mahmud I originally occupied the site, but in 1856–1857 the Armenian-Ottoman Balyan architects built a stone palace for Abdülmecid I. The rectangular three-storey Baroque and Rococo building presents its ceremonial façade to the Bosphorus and is organised around a central hall with corner rooms; kitchens and service areas occupied the basement. The interiors feature stucco, gilding, delicately painted ceilings, Italian marble fireplaces, paintings by Aivazovsky and richly patterned carpets. A notable object is a wooden table carved by the sultan himself without nails. The pavilion has operated as a museum since 1944, and a major restoration in 1994 preserved its refined appearance.

In 1862, Küçüksu Pavilion hosted the future British king Edward VII, the first foreign guest with whom Sultan Abdülaziz shared a table. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich Romanov, younger brother of Russian emperor Alexander II, also stayed here. In the 20th century, the palace appeared in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough as the mansion of oil heiress Elektra, presented in the story as being in Baku rather than Istanbul.