Istanbul Toy Museum

One of the most interesting Istanbul museums is devoted to children. And let the majority of the exhibits in it be made by adults, they have surely made them for children. These artifacts are exhibited in Istanbul Toy Museum.

This museum, placed in an old mansion (it once belonged to a wealthy family), is located in Goztepe area. The mansion is literally filled with old toys of all world countries and nations. Four thousand toys are installed on two thousand square meters. There is also a violin made in France in 1817, and American dolls made in 1820... A small exposition of toys is placed on a small theatrical stage.

The history of the museum is no less interesting than the exhibits. Quite recently, in 2005, the Turkish poet Sunay Akin has opened a private museum of toys in his family wooden house. Here are horses and dogs, robots and toy soldiers, dolls and houses... Theater Hall also works as a theater - puppet shows are given every week for 70 spectators. After the performance you can see luxury German tin toys and dolls from porcelain. Well, the youngest specimen of the museum is a small Concorde aircraft.

In addition to toys, there is also a cafe and gift shop.

The museum is open every day except Monday. Opening hours are from 9:30 till 19:00. The entrance is 10 lire, it’s about $6.