The Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, which is the last museum opened during the Ottoman Empire, sheds light on the world of science and history with its collections of the early Islamic, Ottoman and Seljuk periods.
Starting from the end of the 19th century, it was decided to establish a museum upon the theft of historical artifacts found in foundation buildings such as mosques, mosques, dervish lodges, lodges and tombs in the Ottoman geography. After the Grand Vizier Hilmi Pasha sent a letter to the customs in order to prevent the smuggling of these works, the museum was established with the initiatives of Şeyhülislam Minister of Foundations Hayri Efendi.
The name of the museum, which was opened to visit on April 27, 1914 in the Imaret Building located in the Süleymaniye Complex with the name of Evkaf-ı İslamiye Museum, was changed to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in 1924 after the proclamation of the Republic. After the museum continued its activities in the Imaret Building until 1983, it was moved to the Partalı İbrahim Pasha Palace in Sultanahmet Square, one of the important structures of Ottoman civil architecture.
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum awaits local and foreign history enthusiasts with thousands of artifacts in its collections. The museum, which has a rich carpet collection, is also known as the “carpet museum”. 3 carpets from the Seljuk period are exhibited in the museum. These belong to the 13th century and you do not have the chance to see 3 Seljuk rugs together in any museum in the world.
The carpet collection of the museum includes around 1700 carpets as well as rugs, which are an important object of Turkish culture, and carpets from Iran and the Caucasus region.
Nearly 40 thousand works in warehouses are also presented with temporary exhibitions.
The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art also continues to bring art lovers close to 40 thousand works from different collections in its warehouses with temporary exhibitions. Academicians or experts who want to examine the works in the repositories, which are transferred to digital and are also open to researchers, can apply.
The courtyard of the museum, which has the best view of the Sultanahmet Mosque and the square, attracts the attention of local and foreign visitors. In the courtyard, which is also used as a terrace, there is also a cafeteria for visitors to relax while visiting the museum.
