Historical Cibali Police Station to be turned into museum

ISTANBUL

The building of the historical Cibali Police Station in Istanbul’s Fatih district, which also appeared on the stage as the subject of one of the classic plays of the Turkish theater, will be turned into a museum.

The Cibali Police Station was quite famous in the neighborhood where many public order incidents occurred during the period when it was in use.

The building was rented from the Regional Directorate of Foundations for restoration and repair in order to turn it into a police museum.

A total of 6,950,000 Turkish Liras ($374,000) was allocated from the cultural heritage budget of the Istanbul Governor’s Office for the renovation works of the building.

The renovation works are ongoing, while the items to be exhibited in the museum were also examined and selected.

Wax statues of famous theater actor Nejat Uygur, known for his role in the play “Cibali Police Station,” and of police officers will also feature in the museum.

Uygur broke audience records with his role in the play in the 80s and 90s.

As the police station often came to the fore with public order events in Istanbul, Cibali Police Station was turned into a play that would later become one of the legends of the Turkish theatre.

Turkish theater actor Muammer Karaca brought the police station to the stage in 1951, and the play was staged many times in the country and abroad.

Due to the success of the play, in which well-known actresses such as Adile Naşit and Gülriz Sururi starred in the cast, Cibali Police Station was also adapted to the cinema.