Works for first museum on Seljuk introduced

KAYSERİ - Anatolia News Agency

Items relating to the Seljuk period will be displayed at the museum to be established in Kayseri. DHA Photo

Planning has been completed for Turkey’s first Seljuk Museum, to be established in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

The project, which will turn the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality’s Gevher Nesibe Şifahane into the Seljuk Museum, was launched at a press conference by curators Professor Baha Tanman, Burçak Madran, Gülrü Tanman and Zeynep Ögel.

The presentation included the results of inventory work regarding the state organization, official institutions, daily life, apparel and civil architecture during the Seljuk period. Artistic objects, manuscripts, medical tools and other objects to be displayed in the museum were discussed, as well as the manner in which they will be displayed.

Kayseri Mayor Mehmet Özhaseki said it would be a first for the country. “Turkey does not have a comprehensive museum displaying Seljuk artwork. We have been working on this issue for a few years and organized a project to turn one of the oldest historical structures in the city and known medical faculty, the Gevher Nesibe Şifahane located in the Mimarsinan Park, into the Seljuk Museum. We have really made progress on the project,” he said.

“The Seljuks were a very important civilization that began when Turks entered Anatolia. They have left significant artwork behind throughout centuries and even though there are many projects regarding other civilizations, we don’t have one about the Seljuks. We will exhibit all documents about them in a digital format. The museum will enter the proposal phase and be completed in the summer of 2013,” Özhaseki added.