Poland @ Sakıp Sabancı Museum: Distant Neighbours Close Memories

view from the garden of  Sakıp Sabancı Museum

The year 2014 is being celebrated as the 600th anniversary of Turkish and Polish diplomatic and cultural relationships. Ooops 600 years, amazing huh?!! All this time these two distant countries to each other had been close in trade, education and in many other aspects of life bringing a synergy of memory at historical records.

Nowadays, there are various events being held because of the anniversary. These include a cultural programme both in Poland and in Turkey. So I googled around and found the link for the activities which are going to be held during year 2014 at Istanbul, Ankara, Mardin, Bursa and İzmir the cities of Turkey; http://turkiye.culture.pl/en. You can search from this address and make your plan according to your interest of activity.

one of the horse sculptures at the garden of museum

So I with my friends, and of course with the children as well, chose to make a visit to Sakip Sabancı Museum (SSM) at Emirgan for finding the cultural interaction with Poland.
The museum was named formerly the Horse Mansion. This is because of the big bulk horse sculptures stated around the garden of museum.
(Therefore the locals call the place "Horse Mansion" or in Turkish "Atlı Köşk".)

SSM has become well known in the last decade due to the exhibitions of  world's famous artists' collections. The locals of Istanbul like to visit here for understanding the modern art, the famous paintings, sculptures, photos and other types of arts. The examples of past exhibitions are;  Anish Kapoor, Monet's Garden, The 1001 Faces of Orientalism, Rembrandt and His Contemporaries, Salvador Dali, Master Sculptor Rodin in Istanbul and so many other more...

from Anish Kapoor's exhibition

from Anish Kapoor's exhibition

There are also continual exhibitons held at SSM such as; The Arts of The Book and Calligraphy Collection, Painting Collections of the foreign artists who lived in Istanbul at the later of 19th century, Collection of Furniture and Decorative Arts.

one of the calligraphic art from the collection

As it is the 600th anniversary of Turkish and Poland relationships SSM exhibites " Distant Neighbour Close Memories" collection by the permission of the Poland Ministry of Culture. If you are around Istanbul this exhibiton will be a unique visit for you to visit with your children since it has a very different subject.  This includes paintings, textiles, carpets, books, money,documantaries, cartoon shows, films which are picked from different museums in Poland and brought here.

a wall carpet that knitted at Bursa and traded to Poland 

priest capes knitted at Bursa

Yes, you can find another world proofing how the relations had been so close with Ottoman Empire and Poland. A very remarkable example to social interaction had been the textiles prepared for the Polish priests from Bursa which had been a former capital to Ottoman before Istanbul. You can see the needle work on the religious ceremony gowns, how precious they are!

priest ceremonial gowns knitted at Bursa

Other than trading relation, there had been marriages between these two countries and even at the very most high level!! At the exhibition you will see the portrait of sultan named as "Hurrem". This lady had been the very beloved wife of Kanuni Sultan Suleyman, who had been the most powerful sultan of Ottoman Empire. Now at the museum you will find out that the Hurrem Sultan was originally from Poland!! This is how it is explained at the museum by the historic explanations of Poland. (Yepp, I was surprised for that not because she had been Polish, but I always imagined her more beautiful 'cause as the history states that Sultan Suleyman was so deeply in love with her...)

a portrait of Hurrem sultan

The children will like the exhibition of the cartoon which is on the show at the entrance seminar hall. The cartoon show is about how Poland sited, stages of the country's development, changes at the culture due to historic changes and how it became today a big modern country.

After the tour in the museum, we looked around the garden of the museum with the gorgeous view of Bosphorus. This is a very unique botanical garden. You can find each of every plant or trees' latin name and the information about it.

Sakıp Sabancı Museum is one of the best museum to visit with children in Istanbul as it has also educational activities for them. Please call the museum to check if there is any event on the day of your tour.

another calligraphic art from the collection at Sakıp Sabancı Museum

Must know about Sakıp Sabancı Museum;

• You must go with children, as the admission is free for the adults accompanying a child under 14 years of age ;))
• You can park your private vehicle at the museum's parking lot.
• You can visit the museum with the baby strollers, however I got to mention you that  after the entrance there is a little uphill road for you to climb ;(( oops, but no worry, that is all, because there is an elevator in the museum you can use.
• You will find clean toilets, but sorry there is no nursery room. However, you can use the toilet to change diapers as there is a station for that.
• Children loves the place to visit and they even take several pictures of the exhibited stuff. If the child does not like the museum please no worry, because there is a garden that he or she will enjoy!!
• Or you can let your child take an activity at the museum, and by that time you can enjoy your visit!!
• I suggest you to take your drink or food with you, as you will not find suitable stuff for children.
• However there are great cafes at the right hand side at the exit of the museum. One of them is "Sütiş" and the other named as "Orga". These are my favorites but you can go to the other cafes as well at the back side of the shore of Emirgan.

from Anish Kapoor collection

Admission fees and visiting hours:

Closed on Mondays.

Wednesday: 10:00- 20:00

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10:00- 18:00

Admission Fees:

Adult:15 TL

Groups: 12 TL

Concessions: 8 TL (students& teachers)

Wednesdays: Free

Free admissions: over 60 years old, children 14 years of age accompanying one adult.

Museum Pass advantage: 8 TL for tickets and 10% discount on gift shop purchases.

the mirror reflects the sky for you to see

Transportation:

• By Private vehicle: Drive to European side of Bosphorus till Emirgan. Route your way to "Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi" signs. Parking: There is a parking lot in the museum. No fee. 
• By Metro: Hop off at "Ayazağa ITU"stop, then take minibuses or buses passes the front of SSM. (You can ask to the driver, will tell you when to hop off)
• By bus: Take lines 42T, 40T, 40 from Taksim and stop at Emirgan. You may also use 25E, 22, 22RE from Kabataş and stop at Emirgan. The museum is very close to the bus stop (3-4 minutes of walk)
• By Ferry: You can go to Emirgan by ferry both from European and Asian side of Bosphorus. Take a look at the schedule of ferries. (If you come to Emirgan by ferry, it will take 10 minutes of walk to reach the museum)

Address: Sakıp Sabancı cad. No:42

               Emirgan 34467 İstanbul 

Phone:    +90 212 277 2200

the mirror  showing thinner ;)))

Sakıp Sabancı Museum is one of the best museum to see in Istanbul with children. This place is also a local meeting point and you will see how locals' life style is İn İstanbul. 

So by the celebrations of the anniversary you can find other interesting event other than Sakıp Sabancı Museum. Make a pin on your diary and live the Polish style in Turkey ;)))