Istanbul Municipal Museums – Chapter 2

Istanbul Municipal Museums – Chapter 2,

They moved into the house in Sisli with Ataturk, who put aside the third floor for their use. He himself lived on the middle floor, using the room which looked onto the back garden as his bedroom. The large salon he used as a conference room. On the ground floor lived his aide de camp. During these dark days when Istanbul was under enemy occupation, Ataturk held many secret meetings with his friends in this house. He lived here until May 16, 1919, when he left for Samsun.
After Ataturk went to Anatolia and settled down in Ankara, he brought his mother and sister to live with him on Cankaya. The house in Sisli was then bought by former deputy for Erzurum Tahsin Uzel, and in 1942 Istanbul Municipality bought the house from Uzel in order to establish the Museum of Revolution.
The house which was built in 1908 and is situated on Halaskar Gazi Boulevard in Sisli, and known as Ataturk House, was repaired by the Municipality and opened as the Museum of

Revolution in 1943. The contents are arranged as follows:
1st Floor: The front room is used as a ceremonial salon and contains a large bust of Ataturk, a sketch of his hand, his identity papers and a picture of the house of his birth in Salonika. In the back room are relics of the War of Liberation, a cart loaded with ammunition, sketches, and pictures showing military maneuvers of the Great Attack and the Sakarya and Inonu Battles, Ataturk’s marshal’s uniform, his desk and its cloth.

2nd Floor: In the front room are Ataturk’s clothes, items used by him, and a radio received as a present from the United States. In the central hall are writing sets, his watch his cigarette box, his fur hat, a recording of his voice etc. In the back room are parts of his speeches, the clothes which he wore during the days of the Sivas Congress, the clothes he wore while making the Great Speech, photographs, documents, sketches etc.

3rd Floor: Photographs of the revolutions, various books are written about Ataturk, photographs taken at the time of his death, newspapers, a jar of soil from Ataturk’s Mausoleum. etc.

Istanbul – The Museum of Picture and Sculpture:
The Istanbul Museum of Picture and Sculpture was established in 1937 in the Veliaht apartment of the Dolmabahce Palace. The museum, which is administrated by the State Academy of Fine Arts, contains the works of Turkish artists and sculptors. The museum contains the works of primitive artists such as Osman Nuri, Salih Molla Aski, Ahmed Bedri, Servili Ahmed Emin, Mustafa, Fahri Kaptan, Munip, Huseyin Giritli etc. Works of the classical artists called the Second Generation, including Seker Ahmed Pasha, Osman Hamdi, Zekai Pasha, Ahmed Ziya, Suleyman Seyit etc. Works of the impressionist school, including artists such as Ibrahim Calli, Feyhaman Duran, Ali Riza, Nazmi Ziya, Namik Ismail, Avni Lifij, Ruhi Arel, and Hikmet Onat. The works of artists of the period of the Republic from various different schools, including Sami Yetik, Sevket Dag, Vecihi Bereketoglu, A. Sami Boyar, Omer Adil etc. There is a sculpture by Turkish sculptors of various periods, and a section of works by foreign artists. There are also sections for folk art and ceramics.