The Toy Museum of Istanbul / A history of imagination

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

  I invite the residents of Istanbul and those visiting this fobulous city to an enchanting world of imagination. What poet-author, Sunay Akın, has created from toys gathered from around the globe is Turkey's first and only toy museum.

   The date chosen for the opening of the Istanbul Toy Museum was singularly fitting: April 23rd 2005, the day Turkey celebratetes Children's Day. Located in a five-storey historical mansion. in Göztepe with 700 square meters of space, the museum display toys gathered by Sunay Akın over 11 years from various cities around world.

  Here every room leads to a different world and even the lighting and music system reflect the period of time when the toys were manufactured. For exemple the moment you step into the area where the space toys are displayed the room slowly illuminates and the music from famous movie Star Wars begins to play.

  The room devoted to toys that represent the Second World War offers an amazingly realistic picture of the era with its decor and poignant music. Every room is literally a theatrical stage. Of course, this is due to intensive labours of stage design artist, Ayhan Doğan, the man responsible for the museum design.

The Istanbul Toy Museum opens at 09:00 every day expect for Monday, closing at 18:00 on weekdays and 20:00 on the weekend.

Address: Ömerpaşa Cad. Dr Zeki Zeren Sok. Num: 17 Göztepe / Istanbul
Phone: 0216 359 45 50-51
www.istanbuloyuncakmuzesi.com