Kucuksu Pavilion

You feel as you are in a small replica of Dolmabahce Sarayi. It is hidden in a very calm street overlooking the sea The little gardens all around. Ottoman empire little gem

Ottoman Empire.. The most powerful empire of World History. If you want to fight an Ottoman soldier, you should have known that, the coolness of death is a few minutes far a way from you. This palace was used as guest house and a station for preperation in order to go to hunting. You should definitely see it. The entrance fee is 10 Lira. It takes 20 minutes to walk around inside and takes 20 minutes for outdoor photo shooting. You can visit with your children comfortably

We visited the C19th Hunting Lodge at Kucuksu Palace as part of a 2 1/2 hr cruise with Istanbul Bosphorus Boat Cruise. The hunting lodge was the stop off place at the mid point of the tour. We were only there 20 minutes and it was just enough time to see the lovely gardens and the superb exterior and interior of the lodge, though I could have taken longer. It is an amazing piece of architecture of different styles as it was rennovated over time by successive Sultans. The front staircase and facade is beautiful. It looks like a small palace not a hunting lodge. Inside the ornate interior is breathtaking, and similar in its grandness to Russian or French palaces. It is situated on the sea and a little stream, which is idyllic. The entrance fee is not expensive. If you can travel there by water rather than on a bus it is a superb journey as you get to see other magnificent palaces and buildings from the sea view - which is their front. An enchanting place - we loved it!!!

This small Ottoman Imperial Pavilion was in my "must see" list for a while and today, taking advantage of snowy weather (and thus, consequently expecting fewer visitors) we finally visited it. I had not dared going there earlier thinking it would be crowded and we try to avoid crowds since the beginning of the pandemic. We were right, there were very few people around thanks to the snow. There were plenty of vacant parking lots around so we easily parked our car few steps away from the entrance. Museum Pass is valid here and in case you want, audio guides are available in main languages. When compared with Dolmabahçe and Beylerbeyi Palaces, this pavilion, though bearing major architectural similarities, is just miniscule. Yes the location and thus the views are breathtaking, yes the façade and its marble carving ornaments are amazing but there isn't anything more. But its imperial style "coziness" is really enchanting. Unfortunately it's not allowed to take pictures inside. The gardens are small, yet well kept. Here as well there is a bamboo plantation, just like the one at Beylerbeyi Palace, but much smaller in size. There is also a fountain inside the gardens There is an adjacent café bearing the name of the pavilion but it has nothing in common with this beautiful gem. In case you have limited time in Istanbul, this pavilion is definitely not a must see, there are much better and more impressive places to see in Istanbul. But in case you are around this part of Istanbul and/or if you have been to all major attractions in the city and look for a new place to discover, then I would recommend to allocate an hour of yours to this little gem.

Kucuksu (“Little”) Kasri is a small, but ornate hunting lodge with magnificent carvings, built by the younger Balyan for Sultan Abdulmecid in 1856-57 (shortly after the completion of the Dolmabahce Palace). There is a garden around it, with good views of the Bosphorus in front and wooded hills behind. We visited the garden as a part of our Bosphorus tour. There were not many flowers at the time of our visit in June, but the lawns and shrubs were well-maintained. We found some people who were plucking linden flowers and they kindly shared some with us, so we were able to brew a bit of linden tea in our hotel room that evening!