Maslak Kasırları

On Büyükdere Avenue in Maslak, these pavilions were built by Sultan Abdülaziz in the 1860s and given in 1868 to his nephew, Prince Abdülhamid. Named after the water-distribution cisterns called maslak in the area, they were the centre of a large estate where Abdülhamid II bred horses and farmed during his years as a prince. Used as a military sanatorium from 1937 to 1982, the buildings became a house museum of the National Palaces after restoration in 1984. Besides the Kasr-ı Hümayun and Mabeyn-i Hümayun, built on the traditional Turkish house plan, there are a viewing pavilion, a bath, an orangery, stables and a kitchen; the camellias in the orangery flower in midwinter. Closed on Mondays.