On our first day of the exchange semester in Interior Architecture & Design at Istanbul Technical University, we were given a list of museums to visit around the city. This would be part of our case studies for our museum design projects and an overall cultural immersion into the great transcontinental city of Istanbul.
There were military museums, Ottoman and colonial art
collections, displays documenting the naval and aviation history of the region, but of all the exciting suggestions the one that by its very name drew my attention and wonder was the Museum of Innocence (or Masumiyet Müzesi). This is a museum based on Orhan Pamuk’s novel of the same name, situated in the lanes of Beyoglu, not far from Taskisla, where I lived and studied. It was difficult at first to resist visiting the museum without reading the book, but once I immersed myself in the book, essentially a love story between Kemal and Fusun set in Istanbul, I was determined to finish. There was also a ticket attached on the book’s last page, that motivated me to read till the very end. Weeks went by, as I prepared to visit the Museum through reading the book on the metro, visiting museums and in between studying. But on the day I turned the last page, and finally walked the narrow lanes leading up to this fantastical space, I was absolutely unprepared for the impact the Museum would have on my mind and life. Painstakingly detailed, the exhibits in the museum blur the line between fiction and memory. From found objects arranged according to the chapters of the book, to particular sounds and textures, the Museum truly makes a forgotten time seem real, and alive! A remarkable space in its content as well as arrangement, the Museum allows one to travel across its narrow rooms, pausing to glimpse at old clothes, stamps, photographs, domestic objects and everything that makes a life. The layering of the museum, with its compelling story and commentary of life in Istanbul of the last century brought me closer to the city, its people and its imaginations! Forever thankful for this thrilling experience.
From an article I wrote about the experience :https://www.weloveist.com/chapter-istanbuls-timeline-museum-innocence