Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

Occupying a modest 19th-century timber house, the museum relies on its vitrines, which are reminiscent of the work of American artist Joseph Cornell, to retell the story of the love affair of Kemal and Füsun, the novel’s protagonists. These displays are both beautiful and moving. Some, such as the installation using 4213 cigarette butts, are as strange as they are powerful. Pamuk’s ‘Modest Manifesto for Museums’ is reproduced on a panel on the ground floor. In it he asserts: ‘The resources that are channeled into monumental, symbolic museums should be diverted to smaller museums that tell the stories of individuals’. The individuals in this case are fictional, of course, and their story is evoked in a highly nostalgic fashion, but in creating this museum Pamuk has put his money where his mouth is and come out triumphant. Hiring an audio guide ( ₺ 5) provides an invaluable commentary and is highly recommended. THE EMPIRE PROJECT ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; % 0212-292 5968; www.theempireproject.com; Defterdar Yokuşu 35, Cihangir; h 11am-6.30pm Tue-Sat; j Tophane) Operating since 2011, The Empire Project is one of the most interesting commercial galleries in the city. Curatorially its focus is on artists whose influences lie in the Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula, Eastern Europe and Central Asia rather than Western Europe. Buzz for entry and then head to the upstairs gallery spaces.

GALLERY