Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

Looking over the Marble Terrace towards the Baghdad Kiosk | SERG ZASTAVKIN/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Fourth Court Pleasure pavilions occupy the palace’s Fourth Court, also known as the Tulip Garden. These include the Mecidiye Kiosk , which was built by Abdül Mecit (r 1839–61) according to 19th-century European models. Beneath this is the Konyalı restaurant, which offers wonderful views from its terrace but is let down by the quality and price of its food; a çay will set you back ₺ 7, and a slice of gateau ₺ 22. Up steps from the Mecidiye Kiosk is the Head Physician’s Pavilion . Interestingly, the head physician was always one of the sultan’s Jewish subjects. On this terrace you will also find the late-17th-century Kiosk of Kara Mustafa Pasha (Sofa Köşkü), with its gilded ceiling, painted walls and delicate stained-glass windows. During the reign of Ahmet III, the Tulip Garden outside the kiosk was filled with the latest varieties of the flower. Up the stairs at the end of the Tulip Garden is the Marble Terrace , a platform with a decorative pool, three pavilions and the whimsical İftariye Kameriyesi , a