Turkey’s only Kite Museum regales visitors

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s first and only Kite Museum operating in Istanbul since 2005 narrates to visitors the 2,500-years of wonderful history and journey of the kite.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency on the eve of the International Museum Day, Mehmet Naci Aköz, the founder of the museum, said he had established the Kite Museum with his collection in the Üsküdar district in Istanbul.

Since 1977, May 18 marks International Museum Day to raise awareness about the fact that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples,” according to the International Council of Museums.

Aköz, 62, also the president of the Istanbul Kite Fliers Association, said kites gave him excitement, happiness and hope.

In pursuit of this passion, he organized the first kite competition in Turkey and has also given lectures about kites in high schools and universities, besides flying kites in dozens of countries worldwide from America to Asia.

“Our museum is a living museum,” Aköz said, adding that it consists of a very beautiful and interesting collection of about 3,000 pieces collected from six continents and 39 countries.

The collection, which he started in 1986, includes kites, publications, materials, and various objects which continue to grow year by year.

The museum also has a structure similar to a kite culture center, housing a kite school where 200 students can simultaneously make their kites through workshops, as well as an international kite library, the first of its kind globally, Aköz said.