It is the only example that has survived to the present day from the group of buildings known as the "Aynalıkavak Palace" or "Tersane Palace" during the Ottoman Empire.
The structure, which adorned the shores of the Golden Horn for three centuries and is known today as Aynalıkavak Pavilion, is the only example that has survived to the present day from the group of structures known as ''Aynalıkavak Palace'' or ''Tersane Palace'' during the Ottoman Empire.
It is understood from historical sources introducing Istanbul and the famous traveler Evliya Çelebi that the area where the Pavilion is located was also a resting place for emperors during the Byzantine Period. After the conquest of Istanbul, starting with Fatih Sultan Mehmed, the sultans also showed interest in this large vineyard and grove that developed from the shores of the Golden Horn to the ridges of Okmeydanı and Kasımpaşa, and when the Ottoman State Shipyard was established and developed in Kasımpaşa, the area was called ''Tersane Has Bahçesi''.
The pavilion, which is one of the last and interesting structures of Ottoman classical architecture with its two-story mass on the sea front and a single-story mass on the land front, also reflects the taste of its time in terms of decoration, especially the composer Sultan III. It contains many elements of the culture of the Selim Period. So much so that the rooms furnished with furniture such as divans and divan-like sofas, braziers and oil lamps, which are the main symbols of this culture, display the images of a life style that has disappeared today. The ground floor of Aynalıkavak Pavilion, which is open to visitors as a museum-palace today, has been transformed into a ''Turkish Instruments Exhibition'' venue by bringing together the visual resources in the Topkapı Palace Museum and the instruments donated by some institutions and individuals, taking into account the composer characteristics of Sultan Selim III.
Source: Milli Saraylar Başkanlığı
