Museum opens for late tile master

KÜTAHYA – Anadolu Agency

Sıtkı Olçar’s personal belongings, mostly the ones he used when fishing, are on display at the museum. AA photo

The legacy of late Turkish tile master Sıtkı Olçar, who was selected as a living human treasure by UNESCO and died in 2010, aged 62, survives at a museum that has recently opened. Located in the village of Sofa at the 35th kilometer of Kütahya-Eskişehir highway, the museum displays his tools used in fishing and his tiles.

The master’s daughter Nida Olçar said the idea of a museum had always been in mind after her father’s death, but because of some problems, the museum was only opened temporarily.

“We display my father’s personal belongings in this museum, mostly the ones he used when he went fishing. Unfortunately, we have not brought more precious things here. We will provide the safety of the museum for the next three months. Then we will continue displaying these items in our permanent museum after evaluating proposals from Kütahya and neighboring cities,” she said.

Oçar said they had previously made a contract with the Kütahya Municipality for the museum and she did not know the current situation of the building, which was planned to be opened as a museum. She said, “We are hesitant about delivering the items because the museum will open when we deliver them, but we don’t agree about the location of the museum building. Moreover, if the museum cannot reach a certain number of visitors, all the items will be seized and displayed at the Kütahya Tile Museum. You cannot force people to go to a museum. We have many artifacts and we are having difficulty in providing their safety. They are being kept in four storage holdings. After three months, we plan to give them a more