Private museums flourishing in Turkey

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

Istanbul, which has made its name heard as one of the flagship cities in tourism, has a wide variety of private museums.

The number of private museums, which are located in 37 Turkish cities under the inspection of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, has increased to 177, the latest data by the ministry showed.

Private museums have to fulfill certain requirements. The establishment of private museums is audited by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, and if the necessary conditions are met the ministry grants private museum status.

A total of 97 museums were restored and 38 new museums were opened in Turkey between 2003 and 2013, according to a written statement issued by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The ministry announced that restoration work was still underway at a total of 188 museums, 130 ancient sites and 172 private museums.

Every year, Turkey’s 177 private museums, spread across 37 provinces, host millions of local and foreign visitors. Istanbul ranks at the top of the list, in terms of the number of private museums. While in 2009 there were 40 private museums in the city, this figure is currently 43. In Ankara this figure was 31 and increased to 34. In İzmir there had been eight and are now 11 private museums. There are seven museums in Gaziantep and Bursa while this number is six in Kütahya and Aydın, five in Eskişehir and Çanakkale, four in Balıkesir and Edirne, three in Malatya, Samsun, Muğla, Nevşehir and Konya, two in Amasya, İçel, Kastamonu, Yalova, Kocaeli, Afyon, Şanlıurfa and Antalya, and one in Bartın, Erzincan, Hakkari, Kayseri, Erzurum, Sakarya, Tokat, Düzce, Karabük, Kırıkkale, Zonguldak, Trabzon, Mardin and Bayburt.

Interesting museums

Istanbul, which has made its name heard as one of the flagship cities in tourism, has a wide variety of private museums. Some of these museums’ establishments date back to very old times while some were built in the 21st century. Among these museums are Sirkeci Rail Station Museum Art Gallery, Islands Museum, Istanbul Toy Museum, Kont Szechenyi Fire Brigade Museum, Press Museum, Sadberk Hanım Museum, Haluk Perk Museum, Turkey İş Bank Museum, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine History of Medicine Museum, Aşiyan Museum (The house of Tevfik Fikret), Maritime and Aquaculture Museum, Sait Faik Anasıyanık Museum, Ayşe and Ercüment Kalmık Museum, Rahmi M. Koç Industry Museum, Miniatürk Mini Park, Orhan Kemal Museum, Masumiyet Museum, Marmara University Republic Museum, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı City Museum, Nature and Science Museum, 50th Year Foundation Turkish Jews Museum, City Museum and so on. In an earlier report, Hürriyet Daily News wrote: “Private museums have to fulfill certain requirements. The establishment of private museums is audited by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, and if the necessary conditions are met the ministry grants private museum status.” A total of 97 museums were restored and 38 new museums were opened in Turkey between 2003 and 2013, according to a written statement issued by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The ministry announced that restoration work was still underway at a total of 188 museums, 130 ancient sites and 172 private museums.

In the last three years, 4,138 artworks were obtained by Turkish museums from abroad.