Turkish Nobel laureate Sancar’s home to open as museum
MARDIN-Anadolu Agency
Turkey’s Nobel chemistry laureate Aziz Sancar’s former home in the southeastern province of Mardin will be converted into a museum.
Local authorities in Mardin prepared the project to restore a part of the three-story and 36-room historical house in the Savur district, where the Sancar family once lived. Restoration works will be started in the house under better weather conditions.
Mardin Governor Mustafa Yaman told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the mansion needed to be restored as it had long been vacant, and that it will be restored first before becoming a museum.
With the restoration project, supported by the governor’s and mayor’s offices, having been launched, Yaman said: “I believe we will finish the restoration in a very short time.”
“Sancar is a valuable scientist and a role model for young people,” he noted, adding: “We welcomed the decision to turn the house into a museum with the support of the governorship and the municipality.”
Stating that they agreed with the Sancar family about the museum project in order to keep his memories alive, Yaman said: “I believe that we will finish the restoration within a short time.”
Aziz Sancar’s nephew Mahmut Sancar said that the 36-room and 12-apartment building was still used as a house.
Stating that Sancar’s apartment was idle, he said the family was very pleased with the idea of converting it to a museum.
“Local and foreign guests coming to the district want to see Sancar’s house. This restoration will also boost tourism in the district. It is in a very bad condition because it has not been used for long years. It has been empty since 1990 when Sancar’s mother and sister left the district. This is where the foundation of the Nobel Prize was laid. Sancar’s old books are still in the house,” he said.
Aziz Sancar had once worked in the district as a doctor, using the apartment “as a public hospital” for the local people, his nephew noted, underlining that his uncle did not charge for his services and even provided medications with his own money.
Sancar received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2015 for his work on cells that repair DNA damage.
