TEKIRDAG TURKEY

Tekirdağ

Tekirdağ,located on Edirne-İstanbul route, became an important summer resort during theOttoman period. There are many must-see architectural buildings in Tekirdağcity centre, especially the historical Ottoman houses and the RüstempaşaKülliyesi (Complex) which bears Mimar Sinan’s signature.

The museums in Tekirdağ are also important in terms ofpresenting the historical and cultural riches of the city to its visitors.

Traditional Houses in Tekirdağ

Some of the 18th and 19th century houses in Tekirdağhave survived the onslaught of urbanisation. Some of them are wooden houses,while others are built out of stone or bricks in the Mediterranean style. Thehill between the bus station and the town centre, overlooking the sea, is agood place to see these traditional houses. The streets that overlook the seabetween Archaeology and Ethnography Museum and RakocziMuseum are also a good site to view these old houses.

Rakoczi Museum

The 3-storey traditional Ottoman house which was hometo Hungarian People’s Liberation Hero Ferenc Rakoczi II from1720 to 1735 and was restored by the Hungarian government to become a museum.The museum’s collection comprises, Rokoczi´s statue documents about his life,as well as items used in that period. On the second floor, there are oilpaintings of those who participated in the Hungarian independence war withRakoczi.

Tekirdağ Archaeology and Ethnography Museum

The museum building was built as the Governor’sMansion during the early republican period. The tetrapartite museum includesstone works hall, archaeological artefacts’ hall, ethnographic artefacts’ halland the old Tekirdağ room. The museum exhibits cultural assets dating back tothe year 4500 BC. In addition to that, architectural pieces from theHellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods, sarcophagi, tomb steles, altarstones, milestones, inscriptions from the Ottoman period, fountains andfountain mirrors, tombstones are on display in the large garden of the museum.

Rüstempaşa Mosque and its Complex

The külliye (Islamic social complex)consisted of a mosque, medrese, bedesten (covered bazaar),caravanserai, Turkish bath, imaret (poorhouse) and library.Today, the complex’s mosque, hamam, bedesten, medrese and library are stillstanding. It was built in 1554 by order of Sadrazam Damat Rüstem Paşa andit bears Mimar Sinan’s signature. The mosque is made of cutlimestone and the single balcony minaret is located on its right. The entrancedoor made of walnut tree has ivory inlay. The door and window wings aredecorated with geometric motifs. The round, 5-column marble fountain in thegarden was added under the reign of Abdülmecit.

Namık Kemal House

The museum was founded in memory of Turkish writer,journalist and poet Namık Kemal not far from where he was born inTekirdağ in 1840. The building that hosts the museum is a replica of oldTekirdağ houses. Namık Kemal House exhibits the works of Namık Kemal as well asworks written on him.

The Museum of Old Tekirdağ Photographs

The family mansion that belonged to Mavridis Familybefore the exchange of populations in 1922 was converted into a museum and has,today, a 150-year-old collection of more than 1500 Tekirdağ photographs ownedby Dimitrios Mavridis.

İbrahim Balaban Museum

The museum exhibits the paintings and personaldocuments of painter İbrahim Balaban donated to Süleymanpaşa Municipality.

Music Technologies Museum

The museum presents musical instruments as well asmaterials describing the production of the musical instruments.