Museum of the Princes' Islands () is a museum on Büyükada of

Princes' Islands The Princes' Islands (; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", , ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar (); alternatively the Princes' Archipelago; is an archipelago off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, ...

() in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey dedicated to the past of the Princes' Islands.

Location and history

The museum is situated in the eastern side of Büyükada, the biggest island of the archipelago, off the

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n side of İstanbul in the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

at . The museum was established by

Adalar The Princes' Islands (; the word "princes" is plural, because the name means "Islands of the Princes", , ''Pringiponisia''), officially just Adalar (); alternatively the Princes' Archipelago; is an archipelago off the coast of Istanbul, Istanbul ...

Municipality, Adalar District Governorship and a local foundation in the scope of

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

project,İstanbul net page
/ref> and was opened on September 10,2 2010. The museum is housed in closed area and open space.

Exhibitions

In the entrance hall, there are aerial photographs and the basic information of Adalar. Next, there are items on display about the biological life around the islands. The fossil of an almost 400 million years old fish species

Dunkleosteus ''Dunkleosteus'' is an extinct genus of large arthrodira, arthrodire ("jointed-neck") fish that existed during the Late Devonian period, about 382–358 million years ago. It was a pelagic fish inhabiting open waters, and one of the first verteb ...

, which was discovered by English geologist W. S. Swan in the 1860s inside sandstone formation in the southwest of Büyükada, is an important example of this collection. Some of the topics are; a geology panel, birds of the islands, notes about the islands from the ancient age authors, first life forms in the Islands, early island dwellers. Next comes later eras such as "From detention colony to resort area", "Adalar as a suburb of İstanbul", "Architecture of Adalar", "Demographics and Migration", "Transportation", "Rowing and water sports", "Food culture of Adalar", "Musicians from Adalar", "Adalar re-explored".

Other sections

The museum has a library with a database about the history of Adalar, maps, Ottoman archives, celebrity from Adalar etc. There are also workshops and children quarters. According to museum page, the number of written documents is 20,000 and the photographs 6,000. A section was added for the popular football player from Büyükada, Lefter Küçükandonyadis (1924–2012), on 24 June 2012, just a few months after his death.Haberler (news)
/ref>

References

{{Authority control Museums in Istanbul Museums established in 2010 Adalar 2010 establishments in Turkey