Av Köşkü Saray Museumvisitor guide.

Imperial Pavilion - Palace Museum (Sultan Abdülaziz's Hunting Lodge) Located north of the railway line beside the historic Clock Tower, the Imperial Pavilion (Kasr-ı Hümayun) occupies an expansive civic precinct in central İzmit along with its outbuildings. First built on wooden foundations during the reign of Sultan Murad IV, it was destroyed by fire and earthquakes. The surviving palace standing today was constructed during Sultan Abdülaziz's reign (1861–1876) in Neoclassical European-Baroque style, spanning two stories with fine marble facades. Interior ceiling paintings were executed by French painter Sason, featuring the Ottoman coat of arms, Sultan Abdülaziz's imperial tughra, flags, spears, axes, swords in trophy clusters, and floral and fruit decorations. Ceilings of the secular ground-floor reception hall feature deer and lion motifs. Ground floors are finished in marble, upper floors in wood parquet. The architect was Amira Karabet Balyan of the famous Balyan family. Kasr-ı Hümayun's foremost historical distinction is being the sole Ottoman royal palace erected outside Istanbul. Serving as Provincial and Agriculture chambers until 1967, it became the İzmit Museum; restored in 1992, it suffered severe structural damage in the August 17, 1999 earthquake. Restored between 2004 and 2005 from the Special Provincial Administration budget and refurnished, it opened on January 16, 2007, as the PALACE MUSEUM. DOWNLOAD MUSEUM BROCHURE NEARBY MUSEUMS KOCAELİ ATATÜRK AND REDİF MUSEUM KOCAELİ MUSEUM OSMAN HAMDİ BEY MUSEUM