Istanbul Sadberk Hanim Museum

This young Istanbul museum continued the glorious tradition of the Turkish rich people to open with their own money (and thereafter support) the museum with unique exhibits. This museum was created by a foundation of Turkey’s richest familiy named Koc. The exhibition was devoted to the wife of businessman Koc whose name was Sadberk.

A few words about the museum. It is located in two buildings, one of which was built in 19 century. Despite its young age (by the standards of Istanbul 100 years mean nothing at all), the building, however, is a valuable architectural monument. It is a 3-stored villa made of wood, and the structure of this type were very poorly preserved in Istanbul because of the fires. Although they were built quite often: grand people of the Ottoman Empire adored to build wooden palaces on the banks of the Bosphorus. This mansion, Azaryan Yali, belonged to the magnate of the Ottoman Empire Manuk of Armenian origin. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the revival of the Turkish Republic on its ruins, a young bourgeois Koc family bought this mansion from impoverished dignitaries and opened museum in 1978.

One of the attractions of the museum, located on an area of over four thousand square meters, is a tea room. It is fully furnished in Ottoman style. Stairs of this luxurious villa are also made of wood of valuable sort. On the second and third floor of the building there are the museum’s exposition. Despite the fact that it is a private institution, the collection strikes your imagination. Here you can see the gold coins of the Ottoman era, exhibits from all over the country associated with popular crafts and culture, wonderful Iznik ceramics, Napoleon’s table, fine old china and incredibly rich library.

The museum collection is constantly growing, so now they urgently restore the summer residence of the early 20th century. This is, in general, another small museum. You can see here almost everything that is connected with the history of Turkey - from the era of the Stone Age to the present day. And also - the amazing collection of handicrafts made of Chinese celadon from the fourteenth century!

The museum is open from 10:00 till 17:00 all the week except Wednesday. The entrance fee is 7 lire, it is about 4,5 $