Istanbul’s Carpet Museum is open.

[Filiberto Boncompagni]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I just came back from a long weekend in Istanbul and I am pleased to inform you that the Carpet Museum (Halı Müzesi) is now open.

In my previous two trips to Istanbul (the first one in 2003) it was always frustrating to found the “closed for restoration” sign on the museum building attached to the Blue Mosque.

Now it is open again but it isn’t there anymore. They moved it to a building on the northeastern back of Ayasofya, a few meters from one of the entrances (the front one, I think) to the Topkapi Palace. See map:

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseumMap.gif

The stunning fact, at least for a rug aficionado: in spite of being clearly indicated and absolutely free the museum is completely ignored by the throng of tourists passing nearby!

Incidentally, if you go to that corner in Google Earth, there is a 360 degrees pictures labeled as “Back entrance Hagia Sophia” where you can se the entrance with the clear sign “Halı Müzesi – Carpet Museum”.

Here’s my photo, instead,

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseumEntrance .jpg

Once inside

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseum1.jpg

The visitors have to pass inside the small kiosk through a metal detector (and X-ray machine for the bags), airport style.
The building hosting the Museum was once a soup kitchen for the poor. Only some forty carpets are on display, in three separate galleries in chronological order.

You are allowed to take pictures but no flash and it’s quite dark - that’s why most of my photos are blurred – so be advised to carry with you a tripod.

The first section hosts some famous Seljuk rugs. On the screen on the opposite side of the entrance there is an electronically animated projection of the scene depicted by Jean-Léon Gérôme "The Carpet Merchant "1887 (see Salon 105 Part 2 (http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00105/salon2.html)).

To visit section 2 you have to exit from the building from a dark and not very evident automatic door on the left-end side. Then you go right, find the next automatic door and so on.
A few photos to give you a foretaste of what is expecting you:

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseum2.jpg

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseum3.jpg

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseum4.jpg

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseum5.jpg

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseum6.jpg

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/CarpetMuseum7.jpg

The visit was a pleasure. The display is well done and, besides me, my wife, a friend of her and a few bored guards we were alone. Only to be joined ten minutes later by a shy Asian girl.

So, next time you go to Istanbul, I highly recommend the visit.
(Opening hours: 8am-4pm - Closed: Mondays - Admission ticket: Free)
Regards,

Filiberto

[Frank Martin Diehr]

Hi Filiberto,

thanks a lot for the news and photo report - it is definitely on my list (once I'll make it to Istanbul, which is also on my list ...)

Frank

[Filiberto Boncompagni]

You are welcome, Martin.

A warning about the weather: before leaving, I saw on the weather report that it was cooler than here but I was disappointed by the fact that the high humidity compensated for the lower temperature. In fact the heat index was much worst than here in Nicosia. If humid heat bothers you, wait at least for October.

As for the rest, I didn’t actually even try to buy a rug but I can confirm Jeff Sun’ s report in his Observations: Recent Trip to Istanbul (http://turkotek.com/VB37/showthread.php?t=162 1): fewer carpet shops (I mean, serious shops, not the tourist trap variety) and a lot of too-good-looking Caucasian rugs.

Istanbul is gorgeous and astonishingly clean, though, the food is still excellent, people are polite and kind and the prices are quite cheap - with the Turkish Lira now at almost 1/3 of a Euro.
Regards,

Filiberto

[Michael Bischof]

Dear Filiberto,
I would like to support your recommendation. I was there on 13.5. and found it well done. The light is dim, indeed. Nevertheless one can try something:

http://www.turkotek.com/show_and_tell/divrigi.jpg
- without a tripod! ;-)

Being an „eye animal“ I found the well known rugs a bit disappointing. Reds and blues are the main colours left and only ghostly remainders of other dyes, kind of “a bit unblue“ for “green“.

[Guido_Engel]

Hi all,

here you find some good pictures:

www.pbase.com/dosseman/carpetmuseum

Guido

[Steve Price]

Hi Guido

Those are great. I also call everyone's attention to the excellent collections of photos of various places in Istanbul.

Steve Price

[Guido_engel]

Hi Steve,

it's my brother's find,who came back from Istanbul two days ago.

I had recommended Filiberto's posting to him before his trip.

Guido