Displaying spectacular design, the Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar Museum Library offers students and bookworms a place to read or study away from the bustle of the city
Unfortunately, most libraries in Turkey are considered places that people pass by and only enter if absolutely necessary. The lack of aesthetic design, uncomfortable study rooms and the insufficient number of updated resources keep Turkey's libraries from becoming attractions. While alluring libraries are the first stop for culture lovers abroad, bookworm foreign tourists have little choice but from a few wellconditioned libraries in Istanbul. One of them is the Atatürk Library located in Taksim Square. The Culture and Tourism Ministry launched a new project to breathe life into obsolete places such as museums and libraries. As part of the project, a new library-museum was recently opened to the public. The concept of the library-museum is to increase the appeal of Turkish literature as an alternative space to traditional libraries.
The Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar Literature Museum Library is the fourth museumlibrary in Turkey. There are a total of five museum-libraries in different regions of the country, all named after beloved Turkish authors. The museum was constructed in a two-story alay köşkü (procession kiosk), an Ottoman-era building located next to Gülhane Park. Previously lying in ruins, the building was turned into a museum with a modern library where one could easily spend the whole day surrounded by books. Constructed from wood in the 16th century, the procession kiosk went to wrack during a fire. Sultan Mahmud II asked Armenian architect Kirkor Amira Balyan to rebuild it. The building served as a local spot where the sultan's weddings took place, foreign ambassadors were welcomed, and Ottoman emperors saluted the janissaries. The kiosk was transformed into a telegraph office and renovated under the Culture and Tourism Ministry in 2007. Displaying evidence of spectacular design, the Ahmet Hamdi Tanrıpınar Museum Library offers students and bookworms the opportunity to read or study away from the bother of city noise. The library includes more than 1,000 authors and 8,000 pieces of work along with special collections of Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Yahya Kemal, Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and celebrated Ottoman poet Nedim.
The building was restored maintaining its original form and aesthetic, and its interior was well furnished to ensure a more attractive atmosphere. Featuring more than 100 personal belongings of 33 renowned Turkish authors, the library hosts the translations of notable works of Turkish literature.
The Coffeehouse of Authors
The ground floor serves as a coffeehouse. Visitors may take a break there and have a look at a number of different periodical magazines. There is also a bookshop offering a 20 percent discount on books published by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The museum-library seeks to gather authors, publishers and readers at a series of cultural and literature events. The events program is available on the official
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