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İzmir Atatürk High School's Historic Museum and Library Restored
🇹🇷 Turkey /Culture & Society

İzmir Atatürk High School's Historic Museum and Library Restored

From Cumhuriyet · () Turkish

Translated from Turkish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • İzmir Atatürk High School's Museum and Library has been restored and furnished.
  • The project received a "Respect for Historic Environment Award" in 2012.
  • The museum showcases historical documents, student achievements, and memorabilia from former ministers.

The İzmir Atatürk High School Education Foundation has completed the restoration and furnishing of the school's Museum and Library, housed in the former principal's residence. The project, led by architect Salih Seymen, was recognized in 2012 with the "Respect for Historic Environment Award" from the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.

The restoration and project implementation of this building, which was the old principal's residence, was carried out by High Architect Rest. Salih Seymen.

— İhsan TutumDescribing the architectural work done on the museum building.

The museum's collection was curated by the foundation and alumnus Nail Esmer, a renowned bookseller. They meticulously examined over 70,000 documents from the school's archives to assemble the exhibits. The ground floor features documents from "Gazi" students who voluntarily joined the War of Independence and displays trophies of champion students from 1886 to the present day.

Exhibits include a wide array of educational materials such as documents, publications, books, magazines, guides, brochures, catalogs, photographs, video films, filmstrips, and slides. The building, which had been underutilized as a principal's residence, has been repurposed to serve as an educational museum.

Due to the characteristics of this restored museum, it received the 'Respect for Historic Environment Award' from the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality in 2012.

— İhsan TutumHighlighting the award received for the museum's restoration.

Upstairs, visitors can find a room dedicated to photographs of former ministers who graduated from İzmir Atatürk High School. Among them are Halil Menteşe, who served as Speaker of the Parliament; former prime ministers Şükrü Saraçoğlu and Şemsettin Günaltay; Mustafa Necati, Minister of National Education from 1925-1929; Vasıf Çınar, who succeeded Necati from 1929-1932; and Dr. Reşit Galip, Minister of National Education in 1932-1933. The museum also displays valuable objects from the school's former Physics, Chemistry, and Biology laboratories in the kitchen and dining areas.

The furnishing of our İzmir Atatürk High School Museum was realized by our İzmir Atatürk High School Education Foundation and our graduate, the famous bookseller Nail Esmer, by working in our school archive and examining over 70,000 documents.

— İhsan TutumExplaining the process of curating and furnishing the museum.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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