Qasr of Tophane

The Tophane Pavilion gets its name from Tophane (meaning Cannon factory in Turkish, where there was one) neighborhood. It's located on Necatibey street next to the Nusretiye mosque and was one of the most important buildings on the Tophane Square during the Ottoman period. The kiosk was ordered by Sultan Abdulmecid and built by the British architect William James Smith in 1852. It was especially used for the sultans visiting weapons factories in the neighborhood and to receive foreign visitors coming to the port by the sea, such as the Russian Czar's brother Grand duke Konstantin.
Tophane Kiosk runs parallel to the shore on a rectangle plan sitting on two floors. It has a European style like all other buildings of the same period, with fine hand work ceiling decorations and marble fireplaces. At the moment Tophane Kiosk is closed to visitors and administrated by the Fine Arts faculty of Mimar Sinan University. Nearby this Kiosk, there are Istanbul Modern Arts museum, Tophane fountain, Nusretiye mosque, Kilic Ali Pasha mosque, old Turkish bath, and Cannon factory as sites of interest in this neighborhood.