Oyun ve Oyuncak Müzesi … It’s All About Games and Toys

Thursday, 18 October

Today turned out to be a particularly busy day.  It started out with a stroll I took in Kültürpark while mom and Aylin dealt with their household chores.  Then came a museum visit with Aylin.  To round-out the day, we accepted an invitation for afternoon tea at Hansel & Gretel, a popular bakery-cum-café, with long-time friends who live on the third floor of mom’s apartment building.

One of the few blooms at the Rose Garden in Kültürpark.

There’s been a rash of boutique museums popping up around İzmir in recent years.  Operated by the Konak Municipality, they are inexpensive and fun places to while away a few hours.  Aylin and I have already been to the Maske Müzesi (Mask Museum — post here).  Today we went to the Ümran Baradan Oyun ve Oyuncak Müzesi (Museum of Games and Toys), named for the famous Turkish ceramic artist who donated the building in which the museum is housed.  We couldn’t find an address on the website, but Aylin had a vague idea of where to find it, so off we went.  Asking for directions once we reached the city center confirmed that we were on the right track as we walked up Varyant, a road that circles up a steep hill like a coiled snake.

Looking down from Varyant to Konak from the overlook across the street from the museum.

Statues of children playing on the grass in front of the museum
left no doubt that we had found the right place.

On exhibit inside the museum we found toys collected by Mrs. Baradan during her world travels, and others donated by citizens of the city.  As well, there were award-winning model houses built by kids for art competitions sponsored by Mrs. Baradan.  On the second floor, a room was dedicated to the traditional Turkish shadow play — Karagöz ve Hacivat — but there were no performances on this day.

Aylİn checks out some of the toys on display in the main room of the museum.

Except for some small labels indicating the origin of some of the toys, there wasn’t much in the way of signage … so I’ll share my photos in the same manner — with limited captions.

Model of a Hungarian farm house … took the ribbon for second place in one of the
contests sponsored by Ümran Baradan.

Pop-up Christmas toy; USA; 1920-1930.

I remember playing with a set of building blocks just like these.  How about you?

I never had a Kirk doll — nor a Spock or McCoy doll, either —
but I was an avid fan of the TV show.

And to wrap up … in addition to being a ceramics artist, Ümran Baradan was skilled with paint brushes and oils.  A couple of her canvases hang in the museum for visitors to enjoy.

I don’t recollect the admittance fee we paid, but I know it wasn’t much.  A fun place to spend an hour or two.  You can take a virtual trip for free, though.  Just click here.  Once at the website, you can use the dropdown list on the upper left of the screen to go inside the museum.

From Alsancak to Konak

Tuesday — April 20: Part I

The sky was blue, the sun was out, it was warmer than a spring day should be. The occasional sprinkling of rain was unexpected since the sky remained mostly clear. As I’m not made of sugar and there was no danger that I would melt from a few drops of liquid sunshine, I welcomed its cooling effect as I made my way from Alsancak to Konak.

I walked miles and miles (or so it seemed), visited three museums, and took snapshots galore. I’ve decided to break today’s post into multiple segments, so here goes — this one is all about scenes I encountered en route to my first museum of the day. It will be short on words (and they cheer!!!!) — except for the captions.

This Google Earth images shows the places I visited today.

Alsancak — A “fayton” (horse carriage) awaits customers in Gündoğdu Meydanı
(Gündoğdu Square).

This monument in Gündoğdu Meydanı is known as “Cumhuriyet Ağacı Anıtı”
(Republic Tree Monument). It was erected to commemorate the 80th anniversary
of the Turkish Republic. The reliefs carved on the marble base depict scenes associated with
Turkey becoming a republic in 1923. The pedestal detail in the photograph on the right shows
Atatürk introducing the Latin alphabet as part of the Language Reform instituted in 1928.

The statue atop the monument represents Atatürk and the Turkish cavalry fighting the
War of Independence.

Alsancak — This exhibit of billboards on Kordon honors “Women's Day” (March 8).
The statement on the billboard is from Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey.
(Rough translation: “One must believe that everything in the world is the result of women’s work.”)

Alsancak — Where once used to be old homes, now stand modern apartment buildings.
All of the grassy area is land claimed by filling in a strip of the bay shoreline.

Alsancak — The centerpiece of Cumhuriyet Meydanı (Republic Square) is this
statue honoring Atatürk and the liberation of İzmir on 9 September 1922.

Detail from one of the bronze panels on the base of the monument.

Pasaport Vapur İskelesi (Pasaport Ferry Landing)
The building on the left, which dates back to 1876, was originally built to house the passport office,
hence the name. It became a ferry landing in 1884 and still serves that purpose.

Pasaport Streetscape

Pasaport — At this hour of the morning, the cafés that line the waterfront are
still empty; they won’t stay that way for long.

Konak Vapur İskelesi (Konak Ferry Landing)

Konak — A modern sculpture entitled “Asırlardır Tekne” (roughly, Vessel of the Ages),
by Bihrat Mavitan. Too bad people have seen fit to scribble graffiti on it.

Konak — “Gevrekçi”
(gevrek is a circular bread covered with sesame seeds; it is also referred to as “simit.”)

Konak Meydanı (Konak Square)
The two iconic buildings of the square: Saat Kulesi (Clock Tower), which dates
back to 1901, and Konak Camii (Konak Mosque), built in 1755.

The clock in the tower was a gift of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. The photograph on the right
shows a “sebil” (public water fountain) — there's one of these on each of the four corners of the tower.

The Konak Camii has a unique octagonal floor plan. The exterior is decorated with some of the
finest examples of “çini işi” (tile work) from Kütahya.

Konak — “Anıtkabir İzmir’de” (Anıtkabir in İzmir) is an open-air exhibit that has been
on display since 10 November 2006, the 68th anniversary of Atatürk's death. The poster on
the right portrays an iconic image of Atatürk from the War of Independence.

“Anıtkabir İzmir’de” (Anıtkabir in İzmir) is designed to honor Atatürk and familiarize people
with his mausoleum, which is located in Ankara.

Konak — Milli Kütüphane (National Library), constructed in 1912, is home to over 600,000
books and documents.

Detail from the Milli Kütüphane.

Konak — Street cleaner at work.

And … for lunch (albeit a late one):

Konak — Can offers some of the best “İskender Döner” (gyro) in İzmir.
(when you order an “İskender,” you get the thinly sliced beef served with tomato sauce poured
over it and yogurt on the side; the whole thing sits on a bed of “pide” (thick pita bread)
and is topped with melted butter … yummy)

Next Up: The Handy “MüzeKart” & İzmir Ethnography Museum