Kocaeli Kasr-i Humayun Palace Museum

Kasr-ı Hümayun is located in the centre of İzmit. The first building was built on vvooden foundations during the reign of Sultan Murat IV, but it was destroyed by fire and earthquake. The present building is the palace built during the reign of Sultan Abdulaziz (r. 1861-1876) in European-Baroque style. The facade of this Neo-classical tvvo-storey building is covered vvith marble. The decorations of the ceilings are the vvork of the French painter Sason.

  Amira Karabet Balyan, who was one of the Balyan brothers, is the architect of the palace. The most important feature of Kasr-ı Hümayun is that it was the one and only palace built outside of İstanbul. Until 1967, this palace building was served as governorate and service of agriculture. Since then, it was used as İzmit Museum. The building, vvhich was restored in 1992, was heavily destroyed during the earthquake in 1999. Afterthe next restoration betvveen 2004 and 2005, follovving display and arrangement works, Kasr-ı Hümayun was opened as a palace museum on January 16, 2007.

Atatürk’s Room: İn this room, Atatürk's personal belongings brought from the Savarona Presidential Yacht, like his coffee table in the shape of a kidney, telephone, table lamps, armchairs, leather resting chair and his chess table are exhibited. Also a symbolic meeting table, where Atatürk held his first press conference on January 16, 1923 vvith editors-in-chief of six majör nevvspapers, who supported the War of Independence and Mustafa Kemal since the beginning and where the names of the journalists were engraved, is exhibited in the room along with some original nevvspaper clippings dated to 1938 about Atatürk's death.