Hat museum looks to expand to the world

KASTAMONU - Anatolia News Agency

Mimar Vedat Tek Culture and Arts Center director İlknur Aynan says they will open to the world with a world-class museum in a near future. Hürriyet photo

Turkey’s hat museum, which documents the history of headgear in the country since the Hat Law of 1925 introduced the use of western-style hats to replace the fez, is looking to make their collection international.

Mimar Vedat Tek Culture and Arts Center director İlknur Aynan said their research was ongoing. “We will open to the world with a world-class museum in the coming days. We want to obtain other symbolic hats from across the globe and display them in the museum.”

She also said they were planning a small hat fashion show on Dec. 6 and 9 during the İzmir Travel Turkey Fair.

Attending events

Hundreds of hats worn by men and women since the foundation of the Turkish Republic have been on display at Turkey’s first and only hat museum since 2008. Aynan said the museum’s hats have been a part of many events in the country. “The last event was the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, where actress Türkan Şoray promised to donate some hats. We are working with fashion designers at the moment, are growing with each day and invite people to visit the museum. We want this museum to be a living place.”

Aynan said the museum had opened with only three hats but the collection quickly grew to 421. After maintenance and cleaning, the hats are sealed and kept in special showcases. “We pay great attention to them. We have hats worn by Turkey’s former president Süleyman Demirel and former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit as well as ones worn by actress Filiz Akın in old Turkish films.”

Hats are the symbol of the city of Kastamonu and the museum is one of the main tourist attractions of the city. She hopes it will one day be a world-class museum.

Hat Law

The museum is located in Kastamonu, where the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, first wore, and made a speech about, hats in the city’s İnebolu district.

Atatürk first made the hat compulsory for civil servants. Guidelines for the proper dressing of students and state employees were passed during his lifetime and many civil servants adopted the hat. In 1925, Atatürk wore a Panama hat during a public appearance in Kastamonu, explaining that the hat was the headgear of civilized nations.