Siyavuşpaşa Kasrı (Havuzlu Köşk)

The Siyavuşpaşa Pavilion, known locally as the Havuzlu Köşk or Pool Pavilion, is a 16th century stone pavilion that rises in the middle of a large pool in Bahçelievler. Today it stands on sloping ground inside the Milli Egemenlik Park, right next to the Bahçelievler Municipality and District Governorate. The building lies near the old road from Istanbul to Edirne, at the spot that sources call Çavuşbaşı. The surrounding neighbourhood also takes its name from the statesman who built the pavilion; Siyavuş Pasha's farm survives today as the name of a district. The pavilion's founder, Siyavuş Pasha of Kanije, was a statesman of Croatian or Hungarian origin who was trained in the palace school. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, he became master of the horse in 1567 and agha of the Janissaries in 1569, and was then married to Fatma Sultan, daughter of Selim II. Siyavuş Pasha was appointed grand vizier three times, in 1582, 1586 and 1592, and died in Istanbul in 1602. Sources record that in the periods when he was out of office he stayed at his farm or in his garden in Üsküdar. There is no inscription on the pavilion giving its date of construction. According to Hamza Gündoğdu's study, the inscription on the fountain about 100 metres northeast of the pavilion bears the date 1571-1572, and this date is taken to apply to the garden, the pavilion and its outbuildings as well. Although its architect is unknown, the pavilion is thought to come from the circle of Mimar Sinan because of its date and style; however, it is not named in the treatises that list Sinan's works. When first built, the pavilion is believed to have stood inside a hunting park of 40 dönüms together with stables, barns, kitchens, a bathhouse and water cellars. Of these buildings, only the pavilion and the fountain still stand. Gündoğdu also reports that excavations about 50 metres northeast of the pavilion found an old ruin thought to date from the Byzantine period. The pavilion sits in the middle of a pool measuring 24.60 by 20.30 metres and 1.5 metres deep. The east facing entrance is reached by a bridged staircase that crosses the pool on two pointed arches. The basement below was designed to stand partly in the water of the pool and opens outwards through pointed arches. On the upper floor there is a square hall with a small room beside it; the hall appears to have been used both in summer and in winter. The windows with white marble frames, the pierced pediments and the small hexagonal grilled windows on the facades are the building's most striking details. Water can be seen to have flowed into the pool through a narrow channel carved in a winding line into a single block of white marble. The pavilion's history continued in later centuries. According to Gündoğdu, some sources record that Mehmed IV was received at this pavilion on his return from Edirne in 1676, and in 1691 it was assigned to an envoy who came to Istanbul. It is known that under Abdülmecid the pavilion was given as a gift to Levon Efendi, the chief of gunpowder production, and that it later passed to the state property administration. In the early 19th century a storey rising like a tower was added on top of the building. In the 1973 restoration led by Mualla Eyüboğlu this added storey was removed, and a dome was built over the hall and a vault over the room beside it. The tall stone chimney is also a product of this intervention, and what the original roof looked like is still debated among researchers. The hall's floor is paved with hexagonal Ottoman bricks, and there is a plaster fireplace in the middle of the north wall and marble shelves on the west wall. The best way to see the pavilion from all four sides is to start at the park entrance and walk around the pool first. On the west side the pool wall rises over two metres because of the slope, and from this direction the pavilion seems to rise above the water. On the east facade, look at the two line marble inscription over the entrance and the red and white stones of the door arch. Then find the historic fountain to the northeast of the park; the inscription that helps date the pavilion is on it. According to Wikipedia the pavilion was used for a time as a children's library; ask the municipality about the current use of the interior and whether it is open to visitors. The pavilion can always be seen comfortably from outside within the park, and the afternoon light falls on the west facade. It is a short but worthwhile stop to see one of the rare surviving examples of 16th century civil architecture amid the dense housing of Bahçelievler.