Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

MUSEUM CARPET MUSEUM ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Halı Müzesi; % 0212-518 1330; www.halimuzesi.com; cnr Babıhümayun Caddesi & Soğukçeşme Sokak; admission ₺ 10; h 9am-6pm Tue-Sun mid-Apr–mid-Oct, to 4pm mid-Oct–mid-Apr; j Sultanahmet or Gülhane) Housed in an imaret (soup kitchen) added to the Aya Sofya complex in the 18th century, this museum is entered through a spectacular baroque gate and gives the visitor an excellent overview of the history of Anatolian carpet making. The carpets, which have been sourced from mosques throughout the country, date from the 14th to 20th centuries. There are three galleries, each entered through Tardis-like humidity controlled entrances. The first, in the me’kel (dining hall), features early Anatolian-era carpets with geometric and abstract designs; these are sometimes called Holbein carpets in honour of Dutch artist Hans Holbein the Younger, who often depicted them in his paintings. Also here are examples of the best known type of Turkish carpets: Uşak (Ushak) carpets of the 16th and 17th centuries. The second gallery, in the aşhane (kitchen), displays rugs with Central and Eastern Anatolian motifs including star-shaped medallions and keyholes; the latter is said to have been inspired by the mosque mihrab (panels decode the many symbols’ meanings). On the left at the end of the room, don’t miss the particularly fine red-and-yellow 19th-century Hereke rug from the Mustafa Mosque in Sirkeci. The third gallery, in the fodlahane (bakery), is the most impressive, with huge 17th- and 18thcentury Uşak carpets from the Süleymaniye Mosque and another 19th-century example from the Blue oldest, Murat III. It also houses the graves of 19 of Murat’s sons, murdered in January 1595 to ensure Mehmet III’s succession. They were the last of the royal princes to be murdered by their siblings – after this, the younger brothers of succeeding sultans were confined to the kafes (cage) in Topkapı Palace instead. The fifth tomb is Aya Sofya’s original baptistry, converted to a mausoleum for sultans İbrahim I and Mustafa I during the 17th century.