Another very interesting and extremely visited museum in Istanbul is the Rahmi M. Koc Museum. Museum of the History of Transport, Industry and Communication. It is located on the coast of the Golden Horn, in two historic buildings of beautiful architecture. Visiting the museum is a nice experience for both adults and children. In it you can see exhibitions of cars, ships and airplanes in real sizes. In the collection, which is very rich, there are over a thousand exhibits. The museum is privately owned by the Koc group, and the name of the Rahmi M. Koc museum was obtained after a member of Turkey's richest family. The museum was founded in 1991, and was officially opened three years later, on December 13, 1994.
The idea to open a museum of this type in Istanbul arose when Rahmi Koc went to the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. Thus, the Koc family bought the first building in 1991, which had been damaged, and which had previously been used for the Ottoman Navy. Anchors and chains were made in it, then the building was also the building of the Ministry of Finance in the Ottoman Empire, and it was also used as a storage room. The building had different uses until it was turned into a museum. After the Kots bought it and renovated it, the building got a new look, and the beautiful museum ranks in the top 5 museums to visit in Istanbul.
In 2001, a new museum building was opened, on the site of the old shipyard founded in 1861 by the Sirket-i Hairiie maritime company. In 1996, the building was purchased by the Koc Foundation, thus completing the museum and expanding the exhibition collection in the new building.
The main exhibition in the museum was created from the private collection of Rahmi Koc, and many exhibits from the collection were donated. In the museum you can see cars from different periods, sports cars, limousines, motorcycles. In addition to road traffic, there is rail, air and ship traffic. The old Istanbul tram is one of the favorites in the museum, but so is the sultan's carriage, as well as the steam locomotive wagon. Lovers of shipping, especially sailors, will enjoy cargo ships, lifeboats, submarines, the ship Saduna Bora, the first Turkish sailor. You will be able to explore planes, small and large, their engines and aviation parts. The collection also includes communication devices that have been used throughout history, a telephone with a rotary dial, a phonograph, and Thomas Edison's telegraph from 1876.
Working hours
The museum is open from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m
On weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m
The museum is closed on Mondays
Entrance fee to the museum
Regular ticket price 120 TL
Reduced ticket price 50 TL - for students
Author of the text:
Maja Glavaš, Bachelor with Honours in Communicology. Works in Tourism.
Contact: [email protected]; instagram: travel_europe1
