A philatelic phoneme: PTT’s parades 173 years of history in stamps

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

The main exhibition room of the museum includes a touch screen desk allows visitors to journey through 100 years Turkish stamps, enriched by their stories. AA photo

Philatelists (or a collector and student of postage stamps) and all and sundry have been called to take part in a journey through a history of Turkish stamps, currently on in the newly opened museum of the national Post and Telegraph Organization (PTT). Each stamp has a story of its own, said Turkish Transportation and Communication Minister Binali Yıldırım. The PTT has thus far issued 4,404 stamps and in celebration of the association’s 173th anniversary, it opened a museum to exhibit a grand collection of the stamps of Turkey. Yıldırım attended the museum’s opening, saying, “The stamps exhibit the happiness and sorrows [experienced by people] because they are part of letters that have been sent between loved ones.”

“The stamps revive 173 years of history,” he added.

Noting that the first stamp was issued in 1840 by the Ottoman government and first used in 1863, Yıldırım said this is a reflection of the long history of stamps through time.

Stamp stories since 1863

Speaking after Yıldırım, PTT director, Osman Tural, said these stamps had been stored in archives since 1863 and it was time to unveil the history they encapsulate.

“In order to exhibit the stamps we knew from the beginning that we needed a museum. We had bought this building three years ago from Ziraat Bank, with its transform into a modern museum [that could bring to key historical events] as our objective,” adding that the stamps were displayed in chronologic order to best portray historic events as they happened.

Tural said the museum spreads across a large area in a historical building which has now become a cultural center.

The museum’s entrance brandishes 173 tools and objects that form part of the history of PTT, including antique telephones and the telegraph, Tural said.

There are also clothes in the museum. There are total of eight sets of clothing that flaunt a history of PTT employee fashion. The museum’s 3D museum, meanwhile, focuses on the organization’s history: “We [have provided] films that recount the history of communication [and its evolvement through time],” Tural said.

Digital touch-screens and stamps

The main exhibition room of the museum includes a touch screen desk allows visitors to journey through 100 years Turkish stamps, enriched by their stories. The stamps’ historical account begins from 1900 to the modern day, focusing on notable events that occurred through time, with the 500th year of the conquest of Istanbul even receiving a place in stamp collection.

The museum’s kids club aims to present a more entertaining run-down of the history of communication, encouraging younger visitors to learn and have fun at the same time. Children can enjoy touch screens, special games and cartoons provided for them among other activities and facilities.

Tural said there are meeting rooms for exclusive seminars and similar events. There will be exclusive stamp exhibitions in these venues, he said, noting that there are also workshops the preparation of items for such exhibitions.

“A 150 years of Turkish Stamps,” a temporary exhibition in honor of the museum’s opening, highlights Turkish art as it has been used as subject matter in stamps, according to Tural.

Three exhibiton rooms in the museums have been dedicated to various themes, aiming to invoke certain nostalgia in times gone by; “Turkish stamps’ 150 years of history flaunts 7 thematic concepts surrounding Atatürk, the environment, sports, vehicle, tourism, cultural entities and history.

The archived 120 pieces of themed-stamp touches on the differences between images and publishing.

Stamps from 189 countries

While there are 32 digital touch screens in the museum, all the stamps have been scanned for them to be able to be viewed digitally, said Tural. “The 189 countries that are part of the “World Posting Association” also have contributed stamps to the museum collection.”

On the other hand, countries such as Italy, Brazil, United States, Egypt, England, France, China, Russia, Australia, India and Cyprus have been represented at the museum in related exhibitions, added Tural.