The Çit Pavilion served as Sultan Abdülhamid II’s audience chamber, where he received ambassadors and other foreign diplomats. In keeping with this function, the building was magnificently furnished. All the interior walls were covered with dark red satin embroidered with white stars. Since this was a type of fabric known as çit, the kasır became known by this name. The long, narrow stone building consists of a series of rooms opening onto one another, the last of which is the Audience Chamber. The splendour of the furnishes increases in each antechamber, reaching a climax in the Audience Chamber itself. There are entrances in Ihree façades, reached via the Koltuk Gate, Great Mabeyn Pavilion and the Harem respectively.
The building was used for official receptions and meetings of historical significance. The furniture includes a large meeting table with chairs designed by Sultan Abdülhamid II. During the wars with Russia and Greece, the sultan oversaw military operations from this building, so that he did not have to leave the palace. In view of its historical role and the light it throws on the sultan’s character and his style of government, the Çit Pavilion has now been turned into a museum dedicated to Sultan Abdülhamid II.