Aşiyan Museum ( tr, Aşiyan Müzesi) is the house of famous Turkish poet Tevfik Fikret (1867–1915) at

Aşiyan Aşiyan is a quarter between Bebek and Rumelihisarı in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is situated on the European side of the Bosphorus. Aşiyan Museum and Aşiyan Asri Cemetery The Aşiyan Asri Cemetery ( tr, Aşiyan Asri ...

neighborhood of Beşiktaş district in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. It was built in 1906 and later in 1945 converted to a museum. The museum is owned by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Building

Tevfik Fikret lived in the house from 1906 until his death in 1915. The building was acquired in 1940 by the municipality from his wife Nazime with the initiative of

Lütfi Kırdar Mehmet Lütfi Kırdar (March 15, 1887 – February 17, 1961) was a Turkish physician, civil servant, politician and Minister of Health and Social Security. He is best remembered for his long-term position as the Governor and Mayor of Istanbul. ...

, Mayor and Governor of Istanbul, and was converted into a museum named Museum of New Literature ( ota, Edebiyat-ı Cedide Müzesi). The museum opened in 1945. The museum was renamed Aşiyan in 1961 after the remains of Tevfik Fikret, which initially were buried at the

Eyüp Cemetery The Eyüp Cemetery ( tr, Eyüp Mezarlığı), aka Eyüp Sultan Cemetery, is a historic burial ground located in the Eyüp district, on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the General Directorate of Foundations. One of th ...

, were taken to his home's yard he liked very much due to its panoramic view of

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

. Tevfik Fikret designed the architectural project of the house by himself, and named his house "Aşiyan", which means "nest" in Persian language. The house is a three-story wooden building within a garden.

Museum

The ground floor consists of administrative offices. The first floor is reserved for Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan (1851-1937) and female poet Nigar Hanım (1856-1918), poets of the "New Literature Movement". In two separate rooms, paintings, photographs, books and personal belongings of both poets are on display. In the second floor, Tevfik Fikret's study and bedroom are situated. Here, his personal belongings, his writing desk, armchair, drawings and paintings made by him are exhibited. In the bedroom, a

death mask A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It ...

of him is also on display. A painting of then Ottoman Shahzada

Abdülmecid ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد المجيد) is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Majīd'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to th ...

(1868-1944), which he created in inspiration of Tevfik Fikret's poem "Sis" ( en, fog), hangs on the wall at this floor. Aşiyan museum was restored completely, and reopened by Mayor

Kadir Topbaş Kadir Topbaş (8 January 1945 – 13 February 2021) was a Turkish architect, businessperson and politician who served as Mayor of Istanbul from 2004 to 2017. Biography He was born on 8 January 1945 in Altıparmak village of Yusufeli district ...

in December 2012 after one-and-half-year works costing 1.128 million (around US$640,000). By the restoration, furniture remade after original photos and a

wax sculpture A wax sculpture is a depiction made using a waxy substance. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief. The properties of beeswax make it an excel ...

of Tevfik Fikret were added to the museum.

Admission

The museum is closed on Mondays. Visiting hours are 9:00-16:00. Admission is free of charge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asiyan Museum Museums in Istanbul Historic house museums in Turkey Museums established in 1945 1945 establishments in Turkey Poetry museums Beşiktaş Biographical museums in Turkey Bosphorus Literary museums in Turkey