Ahır Köşkü

Ahır Köşkü, also known as Hasahır, Has Ahır or Istabl-ı Âmire, is the historic stable located within the Beylerbeyi Palace complex in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district. Believed to have been built alongside Beylerbeyi Palace, whose construction was completed in 1864, the structure served as a stable for the sultan and quarters for the master of the horse. Following the declaration of the republic, it was nationalized in 1924 by law and its management was handed over to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye. The following year, it was affiliated with the Directorate of National Palaces as part of the palace. The stable kitchen and hayloft located at the back of the pavilion were converted into a dormitory in the 1950s for the military personnel of the Guard Detachment affiliated with the Directorate of National Palaces. Although it was opened to visitors along with the palace in 1964, it was closed in 1971. While the main building of the palace was opened to visitors in 1981, Ahır Köşkü remained closed. In 1985, the palace was turned into a museum and opened to visitors on July 5, 1985, along with Ahır Köşkü. Having undergone various repairs in different periods, the structure’s most comprehensive restoration was carried out between 2010 and 2018. It is located on the southern wing of the Terraced Gardens within the palace complex, aligned with the fourth Terraced Garden. It consists of two main masses: a rectangular-planned stable stretching roughly in the east-west direction, and an entrance space protruding from the middle axis of its northern facade. It is a single-story masonry structure built with stone. Built in the Moorish architectural style, the ceiling of the entrance space, which is arranged as a pavilion, features hand-drawn ornaments and depictions within geometric frames created by laths. In the stable section, twenty partitions are allocated for animals.