Sadberk Hanim Museum

The Sadberk Hanm Museum is the first private museum in Turkey and houses the private collection of one of the most well-known businessmen of Turkey Vehbi Koç's wife Sadberk Koç. The Museum was inaugurated on October 14th, 1980 at the Azaryan Mansion in Sariyer. 

Collection of the Sadberk Hanım Museum

When the Sadberk Hanm Museum was first established, its collection consisted of about 3000 items. Today, it contains more than 20,000 items. In contrast to the predominantly Ottoman period Islamic works, which include European, Near Eastern, and Far Eastern objects made for the Ottoman market, and Ottoman period textiles, costume, and embroidery, the archeological items representing the material culture of the numerous civilizations that arose in Anatolia date from between 6000 BC up to the end of the Byzantine period (1453) are displayed in the Sevgi Gönül Building.

In the museum, there is also a photography collection. All of the items in the collection are captured in high resolution in the photo archive of the Sadberk Hanim Museum. These photos are accessible upon payment of a reproduction fee for usage in publications other than the museum's own catalogs and publications. 

Restoration and Conservation

Sadberk Hanm Museum has a textile workshop and a restoration and conservation lab. These facilities are in charge of maintaining the museum collection in the proper circumstances so that all the artifacts can be safely handed down to future generations.

Laboratory work is done on the collection's biological and inorganic objects to conserve and restore them. For items in storage and on display, temperature and humidity levels are regularly checked. In the textile restoration studio, the collection's textiles are strengthened and fixed so they can be shown.

Library of the Sadberk Museum 

With a collection of 13,147 printed books and 673 manuscripts, the Sadberk Hanm Museum Library is a premier private specialty library. Particularly significant are the 421 rare sâlnâme yearbooks, which make up the greatest sâlnâme collection in a private library in Turkey and are among the top five collections in all Turkish libraries. Graduate students and academics have access to the museum library for research.

Education and Activities

Sadberk Hanim Museum offers a variety of educational activities for teachers and kids as part of its "Along to the Museum! Discover, Learn, Have Fun" educational program. These activities are intended to raise children's awareness of cultural heritage and foster their interest in culture and art.

One of the most entertaining ways to learn is by visiting a museum, which is also a great place for kids to develop their creative and critical thinking skills. Many nations view museums as an essential component of education. Based on this concept, Sadberk Hanm Museum created its educational project for kids, "Along to the Museum! Discover, Learn, Have Fun," which started in 2014 and has flourished ever since.

Idil Vermeersch, an art historian, created a set of publications for this project's teaching component in 2014. The set includes a teacher's guide with ideas for introducing kids to the museum exhibits in a way that is both fun and educational, two activity books for kids in the primary and junior school age group that provide information about ways of life in the ancient Anatolian civilizations, Turkey's cultural heritage, and visiting the museum. Children may learn about art history and archaeology while having fun and exploring with the activity books with the title Art History and Archaeology. Each book starts with a story and includes puzzles including logic games, matching games, crossword puzzles, and line drawings for coloring.

While the tale in the book on art history is about a girl named Gülendam who lived during the Ottoman era, the one in the book on archaeology is about a boy named Toros who lived during the Roman era. These two characters guide readers through the exercises, transforming the museum visit for inquisitive kids into an enjoyable voyage of discovery.

Museum Shop

Inside the Sadberk Hanim Museum, there is a Museum shop in which you can find many different items and souvenirs to remember your time in Istanbul. There are books, purses, bags, silk scarves, mugs, soap sachets, ceramic objects, jewelry, and even amazing umbrellas! All of these souvenirs are specially prepared for Sadberk Museum so don't forget to stop by and have a look at the Museum shop before you leave.

If you’d love to have a family museum day then Sadberk Hanim Museum is the right address for you. Especially if you plan your visit during the weekend, you may catch special activities and events organized for children.