RAHMİ M.KOÇ MUSEUM: CENTER OF STORIES & EVOLUTIONS

RAHMİ M. KOÇ MUSEUM ISTANBUL: CENTER OF STORIES & EVOLUTIONS 

INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDER OF RAHMİ M. KOÇ 2010

The Museum has now celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and been visited by over 2.5 million people. Could you tell us how it come into being?

I have been interested in collecting since I was a child. When I was just four or five years old my father gave me a Marklin train, and this sparked off my interest in trains and clockwork toys. As time went on I developed an interest in stream engines. When we boarded ferries I used to spend the entire journey watching the engine and breathing in the smell of greasy steam.

We used to travel from Ankara to Istanbul by train, and I loved to watch the steam engine in the station. While I was a pupil at Robert College, I travelled to England,and was fascinated by the value British people  attach to antiques, early industrial machines and tools, and how carefully they preserve them. Later, when I was studying at John Hopkins University in the United States, I developed a keen interest in cars. I was a great admirer of Henry Ford. In 1956 I went to Detroit on business and visited the Henry Ford Museum. I was overawed, and hoped that God would grant me the good fortune to establish such a museum in the future.

So my interest in collecting began with a Marklin toy train, and as time went on expanded to include models, real engines and vehicles. My collection began to fill houses and storerooms. Eventually I began to consider establishing a museum where I could share my collection with everyone. That is how it began.

Your vast collection is exhibited in two buildings located close to one another, and a visit to the Museum is a true ‘’ journey back in time ‘’. How did you discover the historic Lengerhane and Tersane buildings in the district of Hasköy on the Golden Horn? Surely this was not accidental. Your Museum was the first step in rejuvenating the Golden Horn, which since the 1950’s had been allowed to deteriorate as a result of unplanned industrial growth on its shores. Could you tell us the story of how you established your Museum in Hasköy? 

When I had fully thought through the idea of founding a museum. I began to search for a suitable building in İstanbul. The old walled city was my first choice and we searched for historic buildings along both shores of the peninsular near Topkapı Palace and Sultanahmet.

However, there was nowhere suitable that also had a quay. Eventually Dr. Bülent Bulgurlu, a member of the Museum’s Executive Board, discovered a building in Hasköy on the Golden Horn and took me there. He showed me the historic Lengerhane building, whose foundations date back to the 12 th. Century. This had last been used by the government monopoly Tekel as a warehouse for methylated sprits, but after a fire broke out the building had been abandoned. The dome had collapsed and the building was derelict. At that time, the surroundings were an area of unplanned development, but we were confident that this would rapidly improve, like so many other districts in this part of the city.

We purchased the building under the privatisation programme, and renovated it at enormous effort and expense.

In 1994 the museum opened in the Lengerhane. However, before long we had outgrown this building, our stores were full to overflowing and there was insufficient exhibition space. So at the suggestion of Dr. Bülent Bulgurlu and as a result of his endeavours, we purchased the historic Hasköy Shipyard that lay on the other side of the road and which was also unoccupied, from the Privatisation Authority. This provided us with extensive grounds, buildings for expansion and a quay on the waterfront. Again at considerable expense and effort the new extension to the museum was made ready, and opened at the end of 2001. Today, I am fortunate to have founded a museum which is a pleasure to visit, covering an area of 28.000 square metres and containing over 10.000 objects. However, our collection has continued to grow, and now these buildings are inadequate. So we are seeking ways to expand the museum still further.

The Museum collection and buildings have made Hasköy a centre of attraction. Did you envisage that the Museum would make such a rapid and significant contribution to transforming the Golden Horn?

Of course we were aware of the role played by the Golden Horn in İstanbul’s industrial history, since the country’s first industrial area grew up here in the 1950’s. We foresaw that the area would improve once the shipyard and its collateral industries had been relocated, but the opening of the Museum speeded up this improvement and rejuvenation of the area to a far greater extent than we had expected. Our Museum was the start of a major cultural transformation for the Golden Horn.

Subsequently, the former slaughter house was converted into Sütlüce Cultural Centre, and the shores of the Golden Horn were landscaped as green parks. Miniatürk opened and Bilgi University converted Silahtarağa Power Station into the Energy Museum. Kadir Has University and the Rezzan Has Museum opened. Cultural events began to be held in Feshane. The area around Eyüp Sultan Mosque was re-lanscaped. A cablecar was built  up to Piyerloti Coffee House. It is planned to turn the 6 th. Century old Golden Horn Shipyard into an open air museum. All this has happened in fifteen years and I am proud that our Museum pioneered this development. We are currently endeavouring to relocate Sadberk Hanım Museum in this area.

How do you decide which objects to exhibit?

I have personally purchased most of the collection. The majority came from Britian, followed by France and Germany. We have consultants abroad who undertake research for us. They keep track of sales of objects in which we are interested at auction houses like Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Cambi and Christie’s, and we purchase those we need that  comply within our budget.

In Türkiye, we receive the wholehearted co-operation of the Türkish Armed Forces, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and other municipalities, the Turkish Maritime Lines, State Railways, Universities and other public and private sector institutions, as well as private individuals who are conscious of the importance of Museums and industrial history, and make valuable contributions to our collections. An increasing number of people offer to donate objects, and we are delighted about this.

Many schools bring parties of their pupils to visit your museum.

Yes. Schools make regular visits every year. Nursery Schools, Primary Schools, Junior Schools and High Schools visit the Museum, so that by the time young people get to university they have sometimes visited the Museum four or five times. We attach great importance to education. Our Museum collection is particularly suited to this. Pupils can see real objects and machinery, sometimes in operation, that they would not be able to see at school or anywere else. They can see diagrams of their parts demonstrating how they work. The Museum employs one educational expert and five teachers, who take exhibitions to provincial schools that are unable to bring groups of pupils all the way to İstanbul. One teacher and one assistant travel around all of Türkiye’s provinces in our Bus Museum, equipped with selected objects from the Museum collection.

Do you think that there is sufficient interest in museums in Türkiye and the rest of the world?

Ours is a living museum, with surprises for the visitor in each part. From a submarine to trains, steam ships to aircraft, rare toys to rowing boats, cars to laboratory benches, everything can be seen here within a few hundred metres of one another. I know that foreign visitors are very impressed by this range of exhibits, and in the summer months we now get over ten thousand tourists. Visitors can enjoy Mediterranean cuisine at Halat Restaurant on the waterfront and French cuisine at Café du Levant in the Lengerhane, or tea and simit or a light lunch on the historic SS Fenerbahçe. We also have some picturesque old-fashioned snack bars. These mean that visitors can spend an enjoyable time at the Museum and enjoy affordable refreshments and meals while they are there.

Visitors can participate in every aspect of the Museum and visitors of every age find sections to interest them, making learning an entertaining process.

Yes. Have you ever seen children crying because they don’t want to leave a museum? It often happens here. I think we can be really proud of our achievements when children get pleasure out of what is essentially an industrial museum. My efforts over a lifetime that began with an interest in collecting have led to the creation of one of the city’s most important museums. I am truly delighted to see this.

What progress are private museums making in Türkiye, and how do you view the role of the Rahmi M. Koç Museum in this development?

Sadberk Hanım Museum, founded in memory of my mother, was the first major private museum in Türkiye. Then my Museum made a contribution to this progress. I am now pleased to see that private museums with institutional structures continue to be founded by private individuals and companies. I sincerely hope that their numbers increase, both in İstanbul and in other provinces. As the cradle of Byzantine civilization, İstanbul needs an icon museum. In a city where eastern and western civilisations have interacted for centuries, there should also be museums of carpets and kilims. I hope that collectors will join together to set up museums specializing in different subjects.

Is Rahmi M. Koç Museum continuing its contributions to culture and museology in other parts of Türkiye besides İstanbul?

Yes, our Museum in İstanbul has already outgrown its premises. All our outdoor and indoor spaces are now full. We need more room but it is hard to find space for expansion. Since our collection is growing steadily this is our greatest challenge, prompting us to open a branch of the museum in Ankara. We repaired the historic Çengelhan inside Ankara city walls and turned it into a museum. We have converted Çukurhan, another historic building next to it, into a boutique hotel. This beautiful building was derelict, but has now been repaired, and is of great interest on account of its graceful architecture and classical building techniqes. The old walled city in Ankara is rapidly being transformed. We have also reconstructed a windmill and adjoining chapel on the peninsular of Cunda in Ayvalık. Nothing apart from the foundations remained of either of these buildings. They now house the Sevim and Necdet Kent Library.

I have plans for new museums, and I hope that these will be realized in time for the third book.

This interview had taken by Rahmi M. Koç Museum’s book of ‘’ Mirror of the Industrial Legacy ‘’.

GAS ENGINE – 1910 

Made in 1910, Full Size. Small Workshop Engines Were Often Powered by Coal Gas, 

Ignited by a Spark or Hot Tube. This Example Would Probably  Have Been Used to 

Drive a small Machine Tool Such as a Lathe. 

Dimensions: 47 cm. x 18 cm. x 40 cm.

MODEL STEAM ENGINE 

Scale Model Semi Portable Steam Engine, Fitted With Stephenson 

Link Reversing Gear and Watt Governor. 

Dimensions: 65 cm x 29 cm. x 75 cm.

MODEL BEAM ENGINE 

Model ’’A‘’ Frame Beam Engine From 1830 – 1840 With Cast Iron Beam and Frames.

COMMUNICATION INSTRUMENTS

The Communications Revolution That Came About as a Result of Advances in Science and Industry Began With the Electrical Telgraph, by Which Messages Were Encoded in the Morse Alphabet, and the Next Turning Point Was Marconi’s Invention of the Radio in 1896. These Technologies Which Facilitated the Accessibility of Information and Also Made it Possible to Transfer Information Over Long Distances at great Speed Were Followed by Innovation in Vidoe Communication. The Photography Technique Which Consisted of Individual Images Taken by a Stable Camera Developed Into Film Cameras That Produced Moving Images. At the Beginning of the 20 th Century, New Advances Were Made in Image Transfer by Electronics Technology and the Television Undoubtedly Became the Most Popular of the New Communications Technologies. 

MAGIC LANTERN pg. 105

Child’s Magic Lantern by the German Company Ernst Plank of Nurenberg

Circa 1905 With Original Box and Glass Slides.

Dimensions: 18 cm. x 8 cm. x 23 cm. 

GRAPHOPHONE 

The Graphophone Was an Improved Version of the Phonograph, the Main

 Difference Between the Two Being  That the Playing Surface Was  More Durable.

This Example Was Made Around 1900 by the Columbia Phonograph Company.

Kindly Donated by Late Mr. Çelik Gülersoy

Dimensions: 22 cm. x 19.5 cm. x 12 cm.

HORN GROMOPHONE pg.99

A 1930 HMV Model 21 Gromophone, Made in England by

The Gromophone Company, Owner of the His Master’s Voice Trademark.

Dimensions: 65 cm. x 50 cm. x 65 cm.

DECCA GRAMOPHONE pg.100

A Decca Model 88 Portable Gromophone in Simulated Crocodile Skin

Case With Gift Fittings, Made in London, England Circa 1935-1936.

Seen Together With a Swiss – Made Telesmatic Sound Box.

Dimensions: 39 cm. x 30.5 cm. H: 20 cm.

BROWNIE CRYTAL RADIO RECEIVER NO:2 

An Early Brownie Crystal Set With British Thomson-Houston Headphones. It is Cased 
in Black Moulded Ebonite, and Was Made by the Brownie Wireless Co. of Great 
Britain Ltd. In the Mid -1920’s. Kindly Donated by Mr. Bülent Gültekin.

Dimensions: 14.5 cm. x 15 cm. x 20.5 cm. 

 

WORKING MODEL OF STEAM POWERED TRACTION ENGINE pg. 245

A Fine Scale Model of the Allchin Single Sylinder, Two Speed, Four Shaft, General 
Purpose Traction Engine ‘’ Royal Chester ‘’. Built by E.T. Phillips in 1970.

Dimensions: 132 cm. x 59 cm. x 84 cm.

1927 WALLIS & STEEVENS STEAMROLLER MODEL 

Model of the Three – Ton Simplicity, Single Cylinder Steam Roller Built by 
Wallis & Safely Handled by Unskilled Labour and Burn Either Wood or Coal, as Available.

Dimensions: 90 cm. x 38 cm. x 64 cm.

SHAND MASON & CO. FIRE ENGINE MODEL  

In 1858, Shand Mason & Co. Was the First British Fire appliance Maker to 
Manufacture Successful Steam Fire Engine. The Era of the Horse Drawn Steam 
Fire Engine ( Engine Pulled by Horses, The Pump Working With Steam ) 
Lasted  Approximately 40 Years. 

Dimensions: 62 cm. x 30 cm. x 35 cm. 

STEAMROLLER MODEL 

Working Model of a Steamroller, Built to His Own  Design by the Late Ismail Arsürer. 

Dimensions: 42 cm. x 20 cm. x 25.5 cm.

CAFÉ DU LEVANT

French Cuisine is Served at Café du Levant, Which is Located Right Next to the Historic Lengerhane Building. With its Elegant Décor This is One of Istanbul’s Most Popular Venues For Private Events. It is a True Brasserie Reflecting a Parisian Atmosphere.  

RAILWAY TRANSPORT pg.274

The Railway Transport Section of the Museum Consists of Two Main Parts.

Railroad Cars Including the Royal Carriage of Sultan Abdülaziz and

 the Kadıköy Moda Tram Elaborate Locomotive and Tram Models, as Well as

Photographs and Ephemera About Rail Transport.

 

MINIATURE ELECTRIC TRAM MODEL

The Electric Tram Made Its First Trip in Turkey in 1914. The First Electric Trams Used Here Were Manufactured by German Machinen Ausbourg Neurenberg ( M.A.N. ) and French – Belgian Corporate La Caurouveger Associate and 20 of These Were Bought in 1914. Electric Trams Were the Main Means of Urban Public Transport Until 1966. By the End of the Year 1990, The Historical Tramline of Tünel-Taksim Recommenced Serivce and it Operates on a Line of 1640 Meters, Making 14.600 Trips a Year.

Dimensions: 13.5 cm. x 4.8 cm x 6 cm.

MODEL TRAM

Model of a First Class Motris ( Carriage With a Motor ); One of the First Electric 
Trams Made by the German Firm MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nümberg A.G. ) 
to Come to Istanbul in 1913 and Work on the Pera - Şişli Line.

Dimensions: 38.3 cm. x 9.3 cm. x 26.5 cm.

IMPERIAL COACH OF SULTAN ABDÜLAZİZ pg.285

Made in Birmingham, and Presented to Sultan Abdülaziz by the British Company

That Built the First Railway in Türkiye in 1867 He Used it on a European Journey

That Saw Him Meeting Emperor Napoleon III of France, Queen Victoria, the

King of Belgium, the King of Prussia, and Finally the Austro-Hungarian Emperor.

Dimensions: 955 cm. x 280 cm. x 490 cm.  

 

INVITATION

An Original Invitation to a Reception Held During the Visit of Sultan Abdüzaziz to 
the United Kingdom in 1867. Kindly Donated by Mr. Hasan Çolakoğlu

Dimensions: 25.5 cm. x 9.5 cm.

 

BAZAARS

This Nostalgic Street of 19 th Century Shops is One of the Most Popular Sections of the Museum. Many Fascinating Objects in the Museum Collection are Exhibited in These Reconstructed Shops, Which Consist of a Scientific Instruments Shop, Pharmacy, Shoemaker’s Blacksmith’s, Clock Repairer’s, Chandler’s and Toy Shop.

CLOCK REPAIRER’S

The Shop is Equipped With Tools Needed to Repair Every Type of Clock, and Also 

Contains a Diverse Collection of Clocks Ranging From Wrist Watches to Wall Clocks.

TOY SHOP 

Traim Sets, Dolls, Cars, Rocking Horses and Many Other Toys Dated From the

19 th Century to the Present Day are Exhibited in This Old Fashioned Toy Shop.

A Figure of the Shopkeeper Dressed in 19 th. Century Costume and

Models of Children Making Purchases Enhance the Exhibition.

BAZAAR PHARMACY 

Herbs Used to Prepare Medicines, Pestle and Mortars, Medical Instruments, Artificial 
Limbs and Many Other Objects are Displayed in This Authentic Reconstruction of a 
19 th Century Pharmacy. A Model of a Pharmacist Dressed I 19 th Century Costume
 Together With the Aroma Enhance the Experience For Visitors.

HERITAGE PLACES AS MUSEUMS BY WILLIAM CLAY FORD, JR.

My great grand-father, Henry Ford, saw enormous changes in his lifetime. In 1863, when he was born, the fastest railroad trains could barely achieve 60 miles per hour. By 1947, when he died, airplanes were on the verge of exceeding the speed of sound. He was born before Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, and died after nuclear weapons had been used in war. At the time of his birth most Americans lived on farms or in small towns. By the time of his death, most worked in factories or offices and lived in cities.

Not only did Henry participate in this progression when he left the farm to go to the city of Detroit to work in an electric power station, but he was also one of the key contributors to progress with his low-priced Model T car and his moving assembly line.

Progress can be disruptive and unsettling even to those driving it-they become aware of what is disappearing even as they embrace what is coming.

Henry Ford, at the age of 57, became concerned about what was being lost, and began collecting artifacts from America’s past – clocks, steam engines, carriages, furniture, lamps, dishes, and other objects. Henry believed that these artifacts of everyday life and work constituted ‘ true history ‘. History books, he contended, reflected the biases of different writers and focused on politicians and generals at the expense of ordinary people. But the ‘ relics of days that are gone by ‘ that he collected ‘ do not lie ‘.

Henry was not alone in his efforts. As the ‘ Roaring Twenties ’ swirled on, bringing changes in music, fashion, transportation, entertainment, and social mores, other wealthy Americans, born in the 19 th Century, also sought to preserve elements of the rapidly vanishing past. In Delaware, Henry Francis Dupont began assembling a magnificent collection of decorative arts. In Vermont, Electra Havemeyer Webb, whose parents collected European and Asian art, directed her efforts at American folk art, decorative arts, and tools. In Massachusetts, the Wells brothers, who ran the American Optical Company, acquired similar artifacts representative of New England history. All eventually founded major museums to house and display their collections: Dupont’s Winterthur, Webb’s Shelburne, and the Wells Brothers’ Old Sturbridge Village. Perhaps the grandest scheme of all was John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s funding of the ‘ reverse-transformation ‘ of Williamsburg, Virginia from a down-at-the-heels 1920’s backwater to a restored version of the 18 th Century colonial capital of Virginia Colony.

Henry Ford was a leader of this movement. After restoring his own homestead in 1919, he directed his efforts toward the Wayside Inn in Massachusetts, the one-room schoolhouse he had once attended in Dearborn, Michigan, and the Bottsford Inn, also in Michigan. A turning point for Henry was a 1923 visit to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Here, Henry Mercer had accumulated a collection of everyday items similar to Henry’s own. ‘ This, ‘ he said, ‘ is the only museum I’ve ever been sufficiently interested in to visit. Someday I expect to have a museum which will rival it. ‘ Years later, he officially opened just such a museum.

Henry did not originally conceive of his museum as a place for the general public. Rather, he saw it as a school, a place where young people could learn the way he learned best-by participation and active involvement.

He broke ground for his new institution in September 27 th 1928. Originally named the Edison Institute, after another great change – agent, Thomas Edison, the new enterprise had two parts. Outdoors, in what he called Greenfield Village, Henry put buildings and machines, a grist mill, a saw mill, Thomas Edison’s laboratory, as well as houses from the 18 th, 19 th, and early 20 th Centuries. Greenfield Village represented the world Henry grew up in that was passing away. The village, however, was not a static place. Here students would cook on wood stoves, use historic machinery and tools and be inspired by their surroundings.

Indoors, in a huge, new building we now call Henry Ford Museum, Henry installed old technology like steam engines, reapers, threshing machines, carriages, early automobiles, and cast iron stoves. Arranges by type, these artifacts demonstrated to students the evolution of various innovations and changes in the world. The museum also contained new cars, home appliances, and electric motors. Thus, the Edison Institute was a trip to the past, but it also focused on the present as well as the future.

Henry’s museum, now called The Henry Ford, continues that dual emphasis. Today, The Henry ford carries on its founder’s vision of celebrating ordinary people-people such as Edison, Rosa Parks, The Wright Brothers and Henry himself-who took extraordinary measures to change the world. This institution uses authentic objects and stories of innovation, ingenuity and resourcefulness to inspire generations to create a better future.

Rahmi Koç was also born at a time of change, when Turkey was on the road to modernization. New technologies for communication, transportation, and production were part of that process. More recently the internet and economic and social globalization have proved as disruptive and transformational as the technologies and forces Henry Ford witnessed.

Rahmi’s father, Vehbi Koç, and the company he formed were drivers of many of these changes as well as participants. Like Henry, Rahmi has a love for old technology as well as a vision for the future and collected mechanical and industrial objects. It is not surprising that when he first visited The Henry Ford, then known as Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, Rahmi was inspired to create his own great museum. Like the Henry Ford, cultivates an appreciation for the past while looking forward to the future.

Ford Motor Company has had a long and mutually beneficial business relationship with the Koç family. I am proud that the relationship extends beyond business to embrace the task of bringing the joys and lessons of history to our respective countries. 

MAGIRUS FIRE ENGINE 

The Magirus Name is Synonymous With High – Quality Fire Fighting Appliances 

Around the World. This Imposing Example Was Produced in the Kühler Factory in 

Germany on September 27 th, 1922, Using a Deutz Engine. It Saw Service in, and 

Was Kindly Donated by, the Municipality of İzmir.

Dimensions: 630 cm. x 212 cm. x 290 cm.

 

CALECHE

Made by  the Famous Paris Coachbuilder Binder in the Late 19 th. Century,

The Doors Bear Ottoman Armorial Motifs and the Carriage’s Headlining

Conceals the Crest of the Russian Imperial Family, the Romanous. It is

Possible Therefore That This Carriage Was a Gift From the Russians to

the Ottoman Court. On Loan From the Topkapı Palace Museum.

Diensions: 353 cm.x 167 cm. x 222 cm. 

JELLEY  SAFETY BICYCLE 

This Important Bicycle Was Made in 1891 by A. Jelley & Co. of Wandsworth, UK.

It is a Safety Bicycle, the Next Generation After the Precarious Penny Farthing.

Except For its Solid Tyres, it is Recognisably the Same as a Modern Bicycle.

It Was in the Hands of the Same Family From New Until 2004.

 

FOWLER STEAM ROLLER

This Magnificent Steam Road Roller Was Produced in Leeds, England. Founded in 
1863, John Fowler & Co. Were Renowned For Their Steam Ploughing Engines and Implements, but Were Also Noted Manufacturers of Agricultural Traction Engines, 
Road Locomotives and Railway Locomotives. The Firm’s High Point Was the Early 
Years of  the 20 th Century After the First World War, Fowlers had Difficulty Adapting 
Their Business to a World in Which Steam Was Being Replaced by Motor Power. 
The Firm Did, However, Manage to Survive Independently Until After WWII.

Dimensions: 540 cm. x 205 cm. x 305 cm.  

MALDEN STEAM CAR

The Malden Steamer Was Built in Very Small Numbers in Malden,

Massachusetts and Gives a Clear Idea of How Much the Design of Early

Cars Owed to the Horse Carriage. This Example Dates From 1898,

And Was Obtained From the Zimmerman Museum in Pensylvania.

Dimensions: 240 cm. x 136 cm. x 163 cm.

 

FORDSON TRACTOR, 1921 pg.237

The Fordson Tractor, Made by the Ford Motor Company, Was the First

Agricultural Tractor to Be Mass Produced. This early Example is a Similar

Tractor to the Ones Which Were Used on One of Atatürk’s Model Farms

Near Ankara, As Part of His Initiative to Introduce Farmers to Modern Methods.

Dimensions: 254 cm. x 156 cm. x 134 cm. 

 

MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK

MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK

HANSOM CAB pg. 329

A Hansom Cab is a Kind of Low, Two - Wheeled Horse – Drawn Carriage Designed

and Patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom Who Was an Architect. The Carriage’s 
Distinctive Feature Was the Elevated Driver’s Seat in the Rear. Though Named

For its Original Designer, Joseph Hansom, the Cab Was Redesigned and

Patented by John Chapman in 1836. This Model is Half Size.

Dimensions: 140 cm. x 94 cm. x 250 cm.

 

PENNY FARTHING 

Since the Pedals of Early Bicyles Were Fixed to the Front Wheel, the Only Way to 
Increase Speed Was to Increase the Size of the Front Wheel. Hence the Ordinary, 
or Penny Farthing Introduced in England by James Starley in the Early 1870’s.

Dimensions: 170 cm. x 46 cm. x 148.5 cm.

SLED

Sled Made From Wood and Metal in 19 th. Century.

Dimensions: 133 cm. x 120 cm. x 242 cm.

FORD T PICK UP

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS SHOP 

The Shop Contains a Wide Range of Scientific Instruments, Including Telescopes, Microscopes, and Various Measuring Devices. Domestic Appliances Used in daily Life, Such as Radios, Electric Vacuum Cleaners and Typewriters are Also Exhibited Here.

BLACKSMITH’S SHOP 

Diverse Blacksmith’s Tools are Displayed in This Shop, as Well as Examples of

Decorative Iron Objects. The Forge, Bellows and Other Tools are Arranged as

if They Were Functioning. A Figure of a Blacksmith Dressed in Period

Costume Completes the Reconstruction.

SHOEMAKER’S SHOP 

Many Tools Used For Repairing and Making Shoes, Including Wooden Lasts,

are Displayed in the Shop, as Well as Examples of Early 20 th Century Shoes

Waiting to Be Repaired, Riding Boots, Various Bags and Suitcases. There is

Also a Figure of a Shoemaker Dressed in Period Costume.

 

LENGERHANE

Now a class II historical monument, this former Ottoman Navy anchor foundry was constructed during the reign of Sultan Ahmet III (1703 – 1730), on the 12 th Century foundations of a Byzantine building. ( Incidentally, ‘Lenger’ means ‘anchor and chain’, and ‘hane’ means building). The building was subsequently restored during the reign of Sultan Selim III (1789 – 1807), before passing into the ownership of the Ministry of Finance and finally, in the Republican era, the Turkish State Monopolies’ Cibali Tobacco Factory. The roof of the Lengerhane was largely destroyed by fire in 1984 and the building effectively abandoned.

It was purchased in 1991 by the Rahmi M. Koç Museum Fondation for Museology and Culture, and after more than two years of renovation work, opened for visitors on 13 th December 1994. Next to the Lengerhane may be found our authentic French Brasserie, the Café du Levant.

The Lengerhane buildings are laid out on three floors:

Ground Floor: Steam engines and rail transport models, hot air and internal combustion engine models, full size marine steam engine, timekeeping devices.

First Floor: Scientific instruments and communications collections.

Basement: Aviation and maritime collections, early fine mechanical toys replica ship’s bridge, film and printing collections.

TURRET CLOCK – CIRCA 1750

Early Clocks Had no Dials, But Indicated Time by Striking the 

Hours on a Bell. This Example Was made in Strasbourg

Dimensions: 100 cm x 69 cm x 209 cm

THE WORLD IN A BOX

Since the earliest of times, miniature replicas of our surroundings have intrigued us. This interest has taken many forms throughout history; miniature votive figurines, magical talisman, homes and whole scenes of daily life have periodically served cultural and religious functions within society. At other times, miniatures have been valued as toys or as aesthetic objects simply for the pleasure that they provide. It is impossible to contemplate the history of art, religion or industry without coming upon every kind of miniature. Their use becomes the willing suspension of disbelief as their effect is so strongly felt.

I create miniature room; three – dimensional constructions in mixed mediaart speak, of how we lived in the past, present or lost to us now. These are artwork environments of the minds eye with extraordinary vividness, perfect in every detail and composition as my skills of precision can give. I fashion these interiors to display the best of art design of a given time; or a mood of a surrounding which may not be particularly great in form but becomes specific in its emotiveness. The glass through which we see these miniature rooms is the exact equivalent of a curtain on a proscenium stage, controlling and focusing our view. A stylized theatricality that is only absent ourselves and we must furnish this crucial ingredient of life. Stand in front of these illuminated boxes, become riveted in the dark and peer into these hypnotic trans-dimensional fantasy journeys.

I work in archetypes of our collective imagination, an Ottoman coffee house, pirate Captain’s cabin or backstage at the Wintergarden Theater which are not mere copies of anything specific or real even though they duplicate specific parts of the whole from historic types. They are a collective assembly of the real that never existed in that way in the real world. These little virtual realities are a synthesis of what we know in our imagination, what they should look like, a Hollywood dream vision so to speak.

They are, therefore, more than real because they tap into the Gestalt of our collective memory and, as such, are more pure realization. This is miniaturization with the purpose of elevating the common experience and transforming it into the collective dream vision of a time or place beyond us. These miniature rooms act as magical objects to project our best intention of how we wish it were. They are a virtual world directly in one’s face to wonder how it could possibly be fashioned while adoring the fact that we are being fooled. This is transformation by one’s imagination to a more perfectly formed world.

Benevento Cellini may have summed up this fascination best by saying that there is great beauty in smallness, one gets all the charm of design, color and effect, because you can see so much more in combination and juxtaposition and then, too, the blemishes and small deformities, which are so inseparable from seeing things upsize, all disappear. The result is a closeness and fineness of texture, which pleases both the eye and the mind.

On a deeper level, part of perception is the conscious act of miniaturizing the boundless so that it may have actual tactile form and so be comprehended. It is a conceit that gives us a metaphor for our imagination to project through, our understanding to encompass and for our will to dominate, unlike the greater world around us. As early as we can see back in time, as children or cave dwellers, we humans miniaturize to focus and remember the larger concepts all for our hands to hold and see completely.

What are toys but the reduced essence of objects of larger function, which teach us through play  their greater roles. All soldiers dolls, dinosaurs and trains can be moved and controlled in ways that their full-sized counterparts are reluctant to oblige in. Even our sacred beliefs in what cannot be seen or felt become religious miniature constructs as varied as idols, icons Mandela and crucifix. All of this is why a miniature connects completely; an external model for our inner desire to understand and to have power over. A sand Mandela is a model of the cosmos; a doll becomes an image of us and a candy skeleton a reminder of our impermanence. Toy soldiers and dolls project social roles more easily than experience, a talisman or cross the heartfelt aspiration of immortality and building blocks the overwhelming need to create new form. All are miniature stand-ins for how we, as no others we know, abstract in this method by miniaturizing all around us.

So is it such a mystery why we love to play with models, toys and miniatures almost without kind, concept or number, giving us our transposed and processed standins for our larger and un – circumscribed world.

Now as to the Rahmi M. Koç Museum and all the other assemblies of miniature objects throughout the world, all seem to take delight in the superimposition of the large and real with the miniature model. This is not mere antiquarian interest but addresses, unconsciously, how we learn to think. To see the large and its miniature reflection is to understand why we do this because it is human nature to hold what cannot be grasped, to encircle the limitless and have dominance by being several orders of magnitude greater than what we contemplate the world in a box all for us at our feet.

CHAIRMAN ÖMER MEHMET KOÇ 

CARY POCKET MICROSCOPE – 1840 

William Cary ( 1729 – 1825 ) Was a Prominent Maker of Mathematical 

Instruments. This Small Microscope Was Designed by One of His 

Apprentices,  Charles Gould, in London, England 

Dimensions: 15.8 cm. x 7 cm. x 14.1 cm.

MEDICAL GALVANIC EQUIPMENT pg.77

Early 20 th Century, and Marked ‘ L Henson Maker Derby ‘

Dimensions: 29.8 cm. x 24.8 cm. x 20.5 cm.

CELESTIAL GLOBE 

This Globe Was Made by Cafer Ibn-i Ömer Ibn-i Devletşah el-Kırmani Between 1383 and 1384. It is One of The Oldest Globes Known. There is a Full Set of Constellation Figures With About 1.025 Stars Indicated by Points Punched in Small Silver Inserts on it. On Loan From the Bosphorus University Kandilli Observatory.

Dimension: R:14 cm.

EQUATORIAL DIAL 

Brass Equatorial Dial, Dated 1753 and Signed ‘ Ali El-Mukavvit Ebul-Feth ‘. Like 

Astrolabes and Quadrants, These Instruments Were Used in Everyday Life to  Determine 

Time – and Thus Prayer Hours – and Also to Find the Positions of  Celestial Bodies. 

On Loan From the Bosphorus University Kandilli Observatory. 

Dimensions: H: 20 cm. R: 30.5 cm.

ASTROLABE  

This Astrolabe Was Made in 1576  in Angeren, Holland by Adrianus Descroliers, 

Also Known as Angiensis. He Worked in Venice, Ferrara, Antwerp and Paris and is 

Thought to Have Made This Astrolabe in the First 10 Years of His Career. On Loan 

From the Bosphorus University Kandilli Observatory. 

Dimensions: H: 23.3 cm. R: 19.5 cm. 

MAGNETO-ELECTRIC THERAPY MACHINE 

This Machine is Complete With Early Rosewood Box, Brass  Handles and a Blue Horseshoe 

Magnet. It is Signed by Pawson & Brailsford,  England , and dates from About 1900. 

Dimensions: 30 cm. x 11.2 cm. x 9 cm.

MEDICAL GALVANIC EQUIPMENT 

Early 20 th Century, and Marked ‘ L Henson Maker Derby ‘ 

Dimensions: 29.8 cm. x 24.8 cm. x 20.5 cm

MODEL 2-2-2 LOCOMOTIVE FIRE KING PG.

An Historically Important Contenporary Model Made, Signed and Dated by Josiah  
Evans  Haydock in 1841. He Became a Well Known Locomotive Engineer, and in 
1874 Designed the Bellerophon, Still in Service in Yorkshire, England and Believed 
to Be  The Oldest Operating Locomotive in the World. Kindly Donated by Hochtief A. G. 

Dimensions: 73 cm. x 27 cm. x 48.2 cm. 

LA FORCE ET L’ECONOMIE LOCOMOTIVE MODEL

This Unusual Decorative Steam Locomotive Model Was Made in 1857 From Brass and  

Copper by C. P. De Stobbeleere, Malines ( Mechelen) in Belgium. 

Dimensions: 57 cm. x 25 cm. x 35.5 cm. 

LNER C7 LOCOMOTIVE MODEL 

The London and North-Eastern Railway ( LNER ) Was One of Four Main Railway 

Companies Formed Under The 1923 Grouping Act, and Played an Important Part in 

British Railway History. Its C7 Locomotives Were Built in a 4-4-2 ‘ Atlantic ‘ 

Configuration, and Saw Service Between 1911 and 1948. 

Dimensions: 137 cm. x 17 cm. x 31 cm. 

MODEL TWIN HIGH-PRESSURE MARINE STEAM ENGINE & BOILER 1891 - 1895

Reversing Steam Engine and Scotch Return Tube Boiler Built by A.F.B Mills

Dimensions: 51 cm x25 cm x 39 cm

 

2-4-0 LOCOMOTIVE WYE

A Fine 5 ‘’ Gauge Model of the Great Western Railway ‘’ River ‘’ Class 2-4-0

Locomotive and Tender No: 76, Named After the River Wye on the Welsh Border. 

Built as a 2-2-2 Locomotive and Tender in 1856 by Beyer Peacock & Co.,

It Was Rebuilt  Around 1896 as Modelled.

Dimensions: 140 cm. x 22 cm. x 34.5 cm. 

 

THE GOLDEN HORN IN THE BYZANTINE PERIOD

An incomparable natural harbour, the Golden Horn separates old İstanbul, often called ‘’ the historic triangle ‘’, from what in the Byzantine period was referred to as ‘’ the other side ‘’. The word was peran ( literally ‘ beyond ‘ ) and was applied rather loosely to all areas across the water from Constantinople until it came to denote more precisely the Genoese colony of Pera or Galata and the heights above it.

In late Antiquity the only sizeable settlement on ‘’ the other side ‘’ was that of Sykai ( the Fig Trees ) corresponding to Galata. By about 425 CE it had been absorbed into the municipal organization of the capital as the 13 th out of 14 urban regions. It had a forum, a public bath, a theatre and a shipyard (navalia), the last probably in the bay of Kasımpaşa which was originally much deeper than it is today and had a big stream emptying into it. A little later Sykai was surrounded by a wall as a defensive measure against mounting threats from the Balkan peninsula. In 528 the emperor Justinian raised it to the status of an independent city and renamed it Justinianoupolis, but the new name did not stick. And then, mysteriously, Sykai disappears from the record. We can only surmise that it was devastated in the course of one of several enemy invasions that reached the walls of Constantinople or was simply abandoned by its inhabitants as being too exposed to hostile action.

Even in its heyday Sykai was not connected with Constantinople by means of a bridge. There was a regular ferry service from a place called Perama ( the Crossing ) roughly at Zindankapı, but to cross by land one had to go to the very end of the Golden Horn, where two stone bridges, built by Justinian, spanned the mouths of the streams Kydaris ( Alibey deresi ) and Barbyses ( Kağıthane deresi ). There is circumstantial evidence that a narrow bridge was constructed, perhaps in the 11 th Century, at Ayvansaray and, if so, would have terminated at Hasköy. It was called the bridge of St. Panteleemon. It may be that the stone piers seen in the 1540’s by the French antiquarian Pierre Gilles, who describes them as barely emerging from the water, belonged to that bridge. By way of comparison we may note that Ottoman İstanbul managed perfectly well without a bridge across the Golden Horn until 1836.

As Sykai fades out of history, there appears on the seashore a fort ( kastellion ) named after on Galatios or Galates, hence the name Galata. The fort is first mentioned in connection with the Arab siege of 717 – 718, when it served as a point of attachment of the chain barring the entrance of the Golden Horn. The fort was at Karaköy and survived in one form or another into the Ottoman period. It was called Kurşunlu Mahzen ( the lead – roofed magazine ). Its vaulted basement was turned into a mosque ( Yeraltı Camii ) in 1753 – 1756 and still exists today.

What was left of old Sykai? A circuit wall, Probably ruined, and seven or eight churches of which the most important was that of St. Irene, built or rebuilt by Justinian. Its site today is occupied by Arap Camii. When Galata passed to the Genoese (1303), the detailed delimitation of the area that was granted to them indicates a rural landscape dotted with Orthodox churches, but hardly any houses. Galata has no Byzantine remains and there were practically none at the time of Pierre Gilles.

By the 11 th Century we find at Pera a substantial Jewish ghetto. All of its houses were wooden and they were burnt down in 1078. The settlement was rebuilt and by about 1165 is said to have had a population of 2500, divided into two communities, Rabbanites and Karaites, the latter recent immigrants from Arab lands. Among the Jews were many textile workers and rich merchants, but they had to endure a great deal of harassment from their Christian neighbours, the latter being described as ‘ Tanners’. The Jewry, which was again destroyed by the Crusaders in 1203, was probably not at Galata where, as we have seen, a number of isolated Christian churches continued to function, but rather at Kasımpaşa / Hasköy. In the Ottoman period Hasköy was a predominantly Jewish district.

Meanwhile the commercial importance of the Golden Horn was growing. In the early Byzantine period ( 4 th to 7 th Centuries ) maritime traffic was divided between the Golden Horn and the Marmara coast of the city and made much use of artificial harbours provided with quays and moles. Designed to handle mass cargoes, the artificial harbours were, however, expensive to maintain and were gradually replaced by wooden jetties ( skalai, hence Turkish iskele ) to which ships were fastened one or two at a time.

The Golden Horn shore, protected from the south wind, was better suited to skalai than that of Marmara, and it was there, roughly between Sirkeci and Zindankapı that, starting in the 10 th Century, were established the Italian trading colonies that were to play a major part in the economic life of the capital. When the Genoese moved to Galata to be separated from their rivals the Venetians, they gained de facto independence and soon outstripped in wealth the decaying Byzantine city. Galata still preserves some reminders of its Genoese past, but its walls, built in the 14 th and 15 th Centuries, were for the most part pulled down in 1864, leaving the massive round tower from whose top one can enjoy the best view of old İstanbul.

Prof. Dr. Cyril Mango

TIME OUT FOR REFRESHMENT: NOSTALGIC COCA-COLA TRUCK SNACKBAR

This Nostalgic Coca – Cola Snackbar From the 1930’s is Set on a 1934 Model Dodge 
Truck. Located in the Museum Garden This is the Place to Enjoy Some of Your 
Favourite Snacks in the Open Air, Including Sandwiches, Toasted Sandwiches, Popcorn, 
Ice-Cream, Tea, Coffee and Coca-Cola. This Colorful Venue is a Favourite With Children.

GOLDEN HORN STEAMSHIP COMPANY TOKEN

GOLDEN HORN STEAMSHIP COMPANY PASS

GOLDEN HORN STEAMSHIP COMPANY 1928 – 1929 WINTER TIMETABLE CARD

SUBMARINE TCG ULUÇ ALİ REİS

This Vessel Was Originally Built as the Tench – Class US Navy Submarine USS Thornback

( SS – 418 ) at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. USA in 1944: It isMore Than 93 m. Long, and Displaces More Than 2.400 Tons. The Boat Saw Service in the Second World War in

the Pacific Theatre. She Was Transferred to the Turkish Navy on 2 nd. July 1971, and Immediately Renamed TCG Uluçalireis With Pennant Number S-338. She Than Gave Thirty Years of Service to the Republic of Turkey Before Being Finally Transferred to the Care of the Rahmi M. Koç Museum in 2001. On Loan From the Turkish Navy.

HASKÖY DOCKYARD

The Rahmi M. Koç Museum consists of three main buildings. The Lengerhane was originally a factory standing on the landward side of Hasköy Caddesi, and the building between the road and the sea was formerly the Hasköy Shipyard. The latter was built in 1861 by the Şirket-I Hayriye ferryboat company and is an appropriate setting for the museum’s maritime collection.

The Şirket-I Hayriye company was established in 1851 to provide a steam ferry service for passengers between İstanbul and settlements along the Bosphorus. It was the first incorporated company established in the Ottoman Empire, and for many years company ships were maintained and repaired in this shipyard. Ships were also built here. In 1872 the small Meymenet, Nüshet, Refet ve Amed steam ferries, which had been built in Britain and carried to Türkiye in sections, were assembled in the shipyard. The first ships to be built from scratch in Hasköy Shipyard also belonged to the Şirket-I Hayriye. These were the Kocataş launched in 1937 and the Sarıyer ferryboats launched in 1938. After the Şirket-I Hayriye was nationalized in 1945 the ferries belonging to İstanbul Maritime Lines were serviced and repaired here for many years, and several more ferries were built in the shipyard. The shipyard was purchased by the Rahmi M. Koç Museum Fondation for Museology and Culture in 1996 and after restoration became part of the museum.

The Hasköy dockyard complex is home to a wide variety of collections and objects in its three wings and outdoor area, including: underwater life, ‘ how it works ‘, hands-on, agriculture, bicycles-motorcycles, perambulators, invalid carriages, horse carriages, cars, commercial vehicles, steam, gas and diesel engines, olive oil factory, woodworking, marine steam engines, slipway, living history, maritime and rail transportation, full sized ships, aircraft and submarine, and the Rahmi M. Koç Gallery. 

ALİ YILDIRIM KOÇ

MUSTAFA KOÇ

ÖMER MEHMET KOÇ

RAHMİ M. KOÇ

Rahmi M. Koç, born in Ankara, Turkey in October 9^th,1930, is the Honorary Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors of Koç Holding A.Ş. 

He received a degree in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. After completing his military service, in 1958, he started to work in Otokoç Company in Ankara. 

In 1960 he was transferred to Koç Ticaret, the company representing the Koç Group in Ankara. Koç Holding was founded in 1963, and, when the Holding Headquarters were set up in Istanbul in 1964, he moved to Istanbul and became Koç Holding General Coordinator.
He then became Chairman of the Executive Committee in 1970, Vice President of the Board in 1975, and Chairman of the Managing Committee, in 1980.
On March 30^th 1984, when the late Vehbi Koç stepped down from the Chairmanship, Rahmi M. Koç was elected Chairman. When he retired on April 4^th, 2003, his eldest son, Mustafa V. Koç was appointed Chairman. Rahmi M. Koç has remained a Board Member and assumed the title of Honorary Chairman. 

Rahmi M. Koc  is or has been affiliated with the philanthropic, social and professional organisations including:
1- Foreign Policy Association, Honorary Fellow
2- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, Honorary Trustee
3- Former President of the International Chamber of Commerce (President from 1.1.1995 - 31.12.1996)
4- Former Co-Chairman of the Business Advisory Council for South East Europe (BAC SEE)
5- Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Vehbi Koç Foundation
6- Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Koç University
7- Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Rahmi M. Koç Museum and Cultural Foundation
8- Chairman of the Board of the Vehbi Koç Foundation American Hospital 
9- Honorary Chairman and Founding Member of TURMEPA, The Turkish Marine and Environment Protection Association
10- Honorary President of the Advisory Board of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association
11- Member of the Advisory Board of the Turkish Employers Association

12- Founding Chairman of the Global Relations Forum
13- Member of New York Yacht Club (NYYC)
14- Member of Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs Baillage National de Turquie
15- Former President of the Turkish Greek Business Council (1992 – 1999)
16- Former member of the Allianz Aktiengesellschaft International Advisory Board
17-Former member of the JP Morgan International Council
18-Former member of the International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations

Mr. Koç has been awarded Honorary Doctorate degrees by Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland (May 21^st, 1998);

Anadolu University, Eskişehir (September 28^th, 1998), Ege University, Izmir (May 14^th, 1999), Bilkent University Ankara (June 14^th, 2000), Ovidius University of Constanza (April 23^rd, 2001) and Adnan Menderes University, Aydın (May 26^th, 2008).
Rahmi M. Koç's contributions to Turkey were recognized by the President of Turkish Republic with the "Outstanding Service Award" on October 27^th, 1997 for his work in the fields of health, education and social services.
Rahmi M. Koç was awarded with the German Government's Grosses Verdienst Kreutz on July 5^th, 1982 for his contribution to Turkish-German trade and industry and has been honoured by the Italian Government with the "Order of High Merit of the Italian Republic", on April 19^th, 2001, for increasing the economic and commercial cooperation between Italy and Turkey. He received the Order of Merit of the Austrian Government on December 5^th, 2003 for his contributions to expanding trade in the Balkans as well as the countries of southeast Europe and to trade relations between Austria and Turkey.
On October 19^th, 2007, the Koç Family received the Hadrian Award granted annually by the World Monuments Fund to persons or institutions that contribute to the cultural legacy of the world every year.
Since the Hadrian's Award, the Koç Family has accepted the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy on October 15^th, 2009 in New York and BNP Paribas Philanthropy Award on June 21^st, 2011 in Paris.
The following day, on June 22^nd, 2011, Mr. Rahmi M. Koç was appointed to the rank of (Honorary) Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of his distinguished contribution to British-Turkish relations over many years.

Koç Family received the Iris Foundation Award from BARD Graduate Center on April 18, 2012 to celebrate their global philanthropic contributions.  

Rahmi M. Koç, was named an "Officier dans l'Ordre National de la Legion D'Honneur", the highest medal awarded by the French government since 1802 on June 9^th, 2015.

Rahmi M. Koç received Responsible Capitalism Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contributions to Turkish economy and his investment in healthcare, education and cultural programmes across Turkey from FIRST, a leading London-based multidisciplinary international affairs organisation on December 4^th, 2014.

Rahmi M. Koç  was the President of the Rotary Club in Turkey from 1976-1977. He is a member of both the Istanbul Ocean Racing Club and the New York Yacht Club.
He has three sons: Mustafa V. Koç, Ömer M. Koç, and Ali Yıldırım Koç and four grandchildren.

http://www.koc.com.tr/en-us/about/board-of-directors/Pages/rahmi-koc.aspx