Final Memory from the Tersane Palace: Aynalıkavak Pavilion

Since the 17th century, the structure adorning the shores of the Golden Horn and known today as the Aynalıkavak Kasrı, is the fourth largest palace in Istanbul after the Dolmabahçe Topkapı and Üsküdar palaces of the Ottoman Empire. Due to its location near the shipyard, this structure was also known as the Tersane Sarayı; only the Aynalıkavak Kasrı has survived to the present day. Historical sources indicate that the palace grounds situated above the grove, believed to have served as a resting and promenade area for Byzantine emperors, extended over a vast region between Okmeydanı Hasköy and Kasımpaşa.

History

The earliest construction within this large grove attracting the interest of Ottoman sultans after Fatih Sultan Mehmed’s conquest of Istanbul dates back to the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmed himself. The first palace definitively known to have been built here is dated to the reign of Sultan I. Ahmed. Over the course of history this complex of palaces developed through successive constructions by sultans and came to be known as the Tersane Sarayı. From the 17th century onward it was also referred to as the Aynalıkavak Sarayı. It is said that the complex acquired its palace character during the reign of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman. According to information in Hafız Hüseyin Ayvansarayi’s Hadikatüʹl‐Cevâmi Kanuni Sultan Süleyman commissioned numerous buildings including several pavilions and pools within the grove. The number of new buildings added in subsequent periods increased year by year. By the 1800s all structures belonging to the palace which had until then been part of the Emlak-i Hümayun were completely demolished due to the gradual expansion of the shipyard and the reform initiatives of Sultan III. Selim. The only structure remaining from the Tersane Sarayı is the Aynalıkavak Kasrı.

An Example of 18th-Century Traditional Ottoman Architecture

Among the National Palaces composed largely of 19th-century palaces villas and pavilions the Aynalıkavak Kasrı is the sole structure to have survived from earlier periods and is thus exceptionally distinctive for its traditional architecture and decoration. Due to new additions to the shipyard area during the reigns of III. Selim II. Mahmud and II. Abdülhamid the pavilion located inland from the sea displays the traditional characteristics of 18th-century Ottoman architecture. In its present form it is arranged around a double divanhane along a long axis. On one side of the axis and the sofas are the arz odası two rooms two hela and stairs descending to the lower floor; on the other side are two rooms one hela and an entrance sofa. Because the pavilion stands on sloping terrain it has a basement below. Outside the divanhane facing Okmeydanı a sundurma was constructed during the reign of III. Selim. Above the divanhane facing Okmeydanı there is a segmented wooden dome whose interior design is not clearly defined. During the reign of III. Selim new plaster window frames wall and ceiling decorations were applied over older architectural elements to conform to contemporary tastes. From the palace’s original furnishings only a large chandelier a valuable brazier and a gilded gold-leafed divan remain. Above the arched gate leading from the pavilion’s courtyard to the outside a stone kiosk with tall windows and a pulley system stands over the Tersane Gate; it is said to have been built for the sultan to observe the shipyard. The Byzantine architectural style of this small addition may be regarded as evidence of foreign influences entering Turkish art in the 18th century.

There is one reception room with five rooms and a sofa for receiving guests. The golden gilded tuğra of Sultan III. Selim is located on the cornice of the divanhane ceiling. Simultaneously on a frieze running above the windows of the divanhane and beste odası poems by the renowned poets of the period Şeyh Galip and Enderunlu Fazıl praising the pavilion and III. Selim were inscribed in ta‘lik script by Hattat Mehmed Esad El Yesari. In the private chambers of the pavilion another poem of 36 verses by the famous poet Şeyh Galip was written by Yesarizade Mustafa İzzet Efendi.

With two stories facing the sea and a single-story mass on the land side the pavilion is one of the last and most interesting examples of Ottoman classical architecture. In terms of decoration it reflects the aesthetic preferences of its time and incorporates many elements of the culture of the era of the composer Sultan III. Selim. The Aynalıkavak Kasrı is one of the most elegant legacies of classical Ottoman architecture to have reached the present day with its wide eaves elegant cypress wood decorations traditional brazier heating systems revzenli windows featuring plaster carvings with embedded glass fragments and details reflecting the prevailing tastes of the age.

Musik in Aynalıkavak Kasrı

The Aynalıkavak Kasrı reflects all the cultural artistic and architectural elements characteristic of the Tulip Era. It is known as the residence where Sultan III. Selim who reigned from 1789 to 1807 and was renowned for his interest in the arts especially music both rested and composed many of his works. A skilled tanbur player and ney player III. Selim made an irreplaceable contribution to Turkish Music by introducing the makams Sûz-i Dilârâ Şevk-efza Şevk-u Tarab Arazbarbûselik and Nevakürdi. Indeed the traces of III. Selim and his pioneering musical approach facilitated the enrichment of Turkish Music for decades afterward and the period of III. Selim is regarded as a new school in this context. III. Selim received tanbur lessons from Tanburi Ortaköylü İzak and usul and meşk lessons from Kırımlı Ahmed Kamil Efendi and is believed to have composed over sixty works. In addition to this prolific output III. Selim undertook compositional studies on makams such as Pesendide Evc-ara Neva Buselik Rast-ı Cedid Şevkutarab Tahir Buselik and Zavil.

Today the ground floor of the Aynalıkavak Kasrı has been arranged as the Aynalıkavak Kasrı Music Museum in a manner that honors the memory of the countless compositions that once echoed on its walls and drifted through its windows. As Turkey’s first music museum opened to the public to preserve and sustain Turkish music it houses more than thirty musical instruments belonging to Gevheri Sultan the daughter of Şehzade Seyfettin son of Sultan Abdülaziz who contributed significantly to our music. The idea of establishing a music museum in the Aynalıkavak Kasrı was first proposed by Gevheri Osmanoğlu a granddaughter of Sultan II. Abdülhamid. The tanbur ud and kemençe used by the Sultan himself along with a miniature saz violin scores journals and shellac records from his collection were donated to the museum by his heirs. In addition to the 25 Turkish musical instruments donated by architect and collector Zeki Bülent Ağcabay in 2014 the museum also contains numerous other valuable instruments collected from donations by intellectuals. Furthermore instruments from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Collection together with visual sources from the Topkapı Palace Museum and instruments gifted by various institutions and individuals have been assembled into the Turkish Musical Instruments Exhibition space. The Aynalıkavak Kasrı collection includes a total of 65 instruments over 200 shellac records numerous musical scores and printed works. Occasionally concerts and recitals are held at the Aynalıkavak Music Museum to revive the centuries-old artistic and musical heritage of the pavilion and to transmit this cultural legacy to new generations.

The Name Aynalıkavak

After the peace treaty signed with the Republic of Venice in 1718 large and valuable mirrors were presented as gifts from Venice and used to decorate the interior walls of the Tersane Sarayı. It is said that the phrase “mirrors as tall as poplars” transformed into the name Aynalıkavak and the place became known by this name from then on.

In a bas-relief painting from the 19th century created by an artist named Mıgırdıç Melkon depicting the Aynalıkavak Sarayı a fragment of a mirror is seen embedded in the trunk of one of the poplar trees outside the palace. Aubry de La Mortraye who visited Istanbul during the reign of III. Ahmed and gained access to the Aynalıkavak Sarayı reported that he saw large and small mirrors in its rooms. Melling however wrote that the name had always been incorrectly explained: in fact it was given to a type of poplar tree whose leaves shimmered like mirrors when struck by sunlight and that an old specimen of this kind had once stood there. According to historical sources however the palace was already known by this name long before. Du Loir who stayed in Istanbul from November 1639 to February 1641 wrote that the walls had holes giving the impression that they were made entirely of mirrors and that the place was called Ayna Sarayı. The Swedish engineer Loos who painted the palace in 1710 also referred to it as Ayna Sarayı. Therefore it is more accurate to say that the name given to the Tersane Sarayı was not connected to the mirrors from Venice but rather predates them. According to another view proposed by İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı the term “kavak” referred to the supports for mirrors used in archery targets and thus the palace derived its name from its proximity to Okmeydanı.

Aynalıkavak Kasrı in Its Grandeur

Two archival documents written when the Aynalıkavak Sarayı still retained its integrity provide information about the general layout of this large palace complex on the shores of the Golden Horn. The first is an inspection report concerning the “palace known as the Balıkhâne Kasrı within the Aynalıkavak Sarây-ı Hümâyunu.” It mentions a wooden-domed pavilion an ablution room two Taht-ı Hümâyun Kasrı and a bath. The second document found in the Bahriye archives better describes the state of the palace before its demolition. According to this survey at that time within the boundaries of the Aynalıkavak Sarayı there were six köşks three large and three small. Four were in the harem and two in the mabeyin. One of the large köşks the Dâire-i Hümâyun was two stories high with a tile roof and occupied 1162 zira. The second was the Namazgâh Köşkü which had a lead-covered roof an elaborately decorated interior and was located on the shore occupying 264 zira. The third köşk was the Has Oda Daire-i Hümayunu measuring 979 zira.

The entire palace complex covered an area of 15 000 square arşın with a garden of 9 000 square arşın rising behind it in the form of terraces. From the Golden Horn the two-story harem section measuring 4 300 arşın was visible. Part of the Has Oda with its lead-covered dome and golden gilded finial and lantern was the divanhane. Around this section were the Enderun Dairesi and the bath; further on were the Silahdar Ağa and Has Odabaşı daires. Between the Has Oda Köşkü and the shore stood a small mosque connected by a passage to the Namazgâh Köşkü. The stone treasury chamber was adjacent to the Hazinedar ustalar dairesi. Next to them was the Darüssade ağaları dairesi. Behind these were the daires belonging to other ağa and bekçi personnel. Since the palace spread over sloping terrain it rose in terraces so that even the buildings behind including the large pool were visible from the Golden Horn.

The Transformation of the Grand Palace into a Pavilion

The Tersane Sarayı suffered a fire during the reign of IV. Mehmed. The fire originating in the harem quickly engulfed the area and leapt to the sultan’s pavilion. The historian Silâhdar Mehmed Ağa who was a bostancı participated in extinguishing the fire and managed to contain it only by building a wall. IV. Mehmed immediately ordered repairs and the construction was completed shortly thereafter. Thus through these repairs the former brilliance of the Tersane Sarayı was preserved.

During the reign of III. Ahmed the Golden Horn and particularly the Kağıthane stream flowing into it were popular recreational areas and the palace was therefore well maintained. Representatives of the Ottoman State and Russia met at the Aynalıkavak Sarayı to clarify certain provisions of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and concluded a new treaty known as the Aynalıkavak Tenkihnamesi. By the time of this treaty however the palace had already begun to fall into ruin.

In the final years of Sultan I. Abdülhamid Grand Vizier Koca Yusuf Paşa visited the palace several times and recognized the urgent need for repairs. Restoration work began on 7 August 1787. The dates of these repairs are recorded in the divan of the poet Süruri. By the late 18th century the Aynalıkavak Sarayı was being used for meetings with foreign envoys and representatives and had assumed the status of a kind of foreign ministry residence. Ahmed Vasıf Efendi’s Tarih mentions meetings held here with Russian and British envoys. Sultan III. Selim spent only one spring here and at the beginning of his reign initiated repairs to the palace under the direction of Kaptanıderya Küçük Hüseyin Paşa. These repairs marked the beginning of the dismantling of the Aynalıkavak or Tersane Sarayı which at the time was the largest palace complex on the Golden Horn outside the Saray-ı Cedid known today as Topkapı Palace. In the name of expanding the shipyard III. Selim who sought modernization and technological advancement for the country ordered the demolition of most of the complex leaving only the large Has Oda Köşkü which was entirely renovated. Thus this pavilion ceased to be a place where the sultan and his harem and palace staff resided during spring and observed the displays at the Golden Horn and Okmeydanı and became a “biniş kasrı” where the sultan briefly stayed during occasional visits to the shipyard facilities in Hasköy.

During the years of the First World War while serving as Minister of the Navy Cemal Paşa had the pavilion repaired and removed the additional buildings including the already ruined bath. As a result of the disasters the pavilion endured and the subsequent restoration efforts some damaged sections were entirely removed and the palace lost its original appearance.

Although no trace remains today of the splendor of the Aynalıkavak or Tersane Sarayı which for centuries enhanced the beauty of the Golden Horn shores the existing Aynalıkavak Kasrı constitutes the final remnant of that beauty even if from a later period. Moreover this structure holds a special place in art history as one of the last and most successful examples of Turkish köşk and pavilion architecture still reflecting the old traditions.

Two Mevlevi in Aynalıkavak Kasrı: III. Selim and Şeyh Galib

Sultan III. Selim known for his refined and artistic nature his poetry written under the pen name İlhami and the makams he introduced to Turkish Music held great devotion and admiration for Şeyh Galip one of the last representatives of Divan Literature and a Sufi. Their first connection began when Sultan Selim read Şeyh Galip’s work Hüsnü Aşk which circulated orally in his time. Deeply moved by this mesnevi-style composition Sultan Selim requested a beyit from Şeyh Galip who was then in seclusion in Sütlüce for inclusion in the puşide to be placed in the Mevlana Türbesi. In response to this request Şeyh Galip did not write a single beyit but composed a long tercii bent.

This initial acquaintance between two Mevlevi figures of their age developed into a deep friendship in the following years. It is said that during long conversations at the Aynalıkavak Kasrı which Sultan Selim regarded as a refuge amid the difficult conditions he faced after ascending the throne Şeyh Galip spent hours in his company. Indeed Şeyh Galip composed many poems dedicated to both the Aynalıkavak Kasrı and III. Selim. One of these poems still adorns the entrance gate facing Okmeydanı. Another poem of thirty-six verses by the poet celebrating the beauty of the Aynalıkavak Kasrı and the restoration works carried out by III. Selim crowns the walls of the beste odası. Although the main theme of the poem in the beste odası is the Aynalıkavak Kasrı in the fifteenth and sixteenth verses the poet expresses:

“I forgot to praise and describe you

You are a Sultan beyond words

What can a poet do?”

Thus Şeyh Galip also cherished great affection for Sultan Selim and frequently expressed his reverence for him in his works. Behind these laudatory words by Şeyh Galip lies the significant contribution made by the sultan himself who as a Mevlevi supported the development of Mevlevihanes and Mevlevilik.

Şeyh Galip also consistently supported the reform movements initiated by III. Selim under the nizam-ı cedit and praised the sultan’s innovative initiatives in his writings. Although the friendship between Şeyh Galip and III. Selim ended with the poet’s death the every corner of the Aynalıkavak Kasrı continues to whisper the echoes of the gatherings of Galip Dede and Sultan Selim.