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Museum of Turkish and Islamic art
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts (Turk ve Islam Eserleri Muzesi) - one of the must-visit traditional exhibition museums of Istanbul, is included in the list of visited on the museum map. The number of exhibits in its collection may not be very impressive compared to Istanbul Archaeological Museum only 40,000 against one million, but here you can learn about the culture and art of Turkey, the basis of which is Islam. The influence of religion here is evident in every exhibit. Sculptures, carpets, fabrics, jewelry, dishes, calligraphy, books – everything is somehow connected with religion. There are also special, sacred exhibits-hair from the beard of the Prophet Muhammad.
In addition to the main exhibition, there is a section of temporary exhibitions on the first floor (in 2019 there is a collection of Chinese art), and an ethnographic section. Sometimes, out of ignorance, tourists miss the ethnographic section, since the entrance to it is separate and not marked in any way, but it is easy to find it: a glass sliding door leads from the courtyard to the street.
The building itself, which houses the collection, is also historical. This is the former palace of the outstanding vizier Ibrahim Pasha, who served Sultan Suleiman I The Magnificent in the XVI century. The palace is well preserved and is an architectural historical monument.
The price for visiting a non-museum card Museum Pass Istanbul is somewhat excessive. Therefore, we can say that it is definitely worth visiting it on the map, and without a map you can skip it. For a leisurely visit with the study of exhibits and their descriptions, it is worth allocating 2-3 hours.
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Museum of Turkish and Islamic art
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Museum of Turkish and Islamic art
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Museum of Turkish and Islamic art
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Museum of Turkish and Islamic art
🕐 Working hours: in summer (from April 1 to October 31) – 09:00-19:00; in winter (from November 1 to March 31) – 09:00-17:00. In summer without days off, in winter on Tuesday - a day off.
💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: 390 lira (12.08 USD, see Turkish currency and exchange rate), children under 8 years old inclusive-free of charge. By Museum Pass istanbul Card attendance is free.
🚶 How to get there: located in the historic Sultanahmet district (Museum on the map). From Sultanahmet districts/Fatih can be reached on foot. From Beyoglu district by tram T1 (stop nearby); Metro Line M2 to Vezneciler station and walk 1 kilometer; buses 80T, 70KY, 74A, taxis 22 and 23 and walk 1-2 kilometers. From the Asian part and Kadikoy district by the Marmaray city train. The Big Bus Istanbul tourist bus gets off at Stop #1/20. see details about Istanbul transport and Istanbul map with Transport.
Without a story about history, visiting this attraction is not so interesting, so if you understand English, take an audio guide at the entrance (attention! At the end of 2019, there were no audio guides), and even better, a tour in Russian. You can find and buy online Russian-language tours of Istanbul on one of these trusted sites:
- Excursions from the tour operator TezTour (in Russian)
- Excursions from Sputnik8 (in Russian)
- Trips from Tripster (in Russian)