Istanbul Airport Museum: Exuberating Turkish Culture and Heritage
Imagine landing in a new country and being disappointed at the sight of the airport! A non-attractive airport can be quite a bummer for a new tourist. As the first and last contact with a city, airports play an important role in exciting tourists about their future trips. Some of the best airports around the world reflect the country’s culture and heritage via art galleries and museums, like the Istanbul Airport Museum.
My first visit to the Istanbul Airport in 2019 was surprisingly great. Being a lover of spacious airports, designed by London-based firm Grimshaw the 1000 m2 airport was quite satisfactory to me. With floor to ceiling windows, lots of potted plants and 55,000 square metres of Duty Free shopping and play areas for children, a simple stroll in the airport turned into a refreshing feel for me.
To control the spread of Covid-19 while boosting tourism in the country, the airport authorities have placed hygiene automats in almost every corner of the terminal. Some passengers who did not have hand sanitisers and masks were happy to get easy access to basic hygiene necessities. Instead of scanning people with a usual infrared thermometer, the personnel are using new high-tech smart screening helmets that have thermo-scan sensors.
Walking around the duty-free shops led me to the newly opened Istanbul Airport Museum. The museum illustrates with the “Treasures of Turkey: Faces of the Throne” exhibition 316 unique pieces from 29 museums from all around Turkey. Prior to this I have visited several cities with airport museums, including Athens, Amsterdam, San Francisco and Cairo, yet the Istanbul Airport Museum surprised me with its spacious indoors and its unique collection.
The exhibition presented has Turkish artefacts spanning from the prehistoric era to the Ottoman and republican periods. World’s first peace treaty — ‘Kadesh Treaty’ that was signed between the Egyptians and the Hittites in 1259 BC is also a part of the exhibition at the Istanbul Airport Museum.
Vests decorated by the Ottoman sultans (also known as the Talisman Jackets) gave me an overview of the Turkish sense of clothing in the earlier times. Works belonging to the Anatolian civilisations in the historical ages and those from prehistoric Göbeklitepe and Çatalhöyük periods are also on display.
There is also a photo exhibition that clearly shows the 42-months construction story of new Istanbul Airport. The airport had various food giants to pick from, including Popeyes, Glorai Jean’s Coffees and Burger King.
If you are a food lover, leaving Istanbul will be a tough task for you. From yummy sweets and pastries to finger licking lamb and chicken with kneaded bread, you will surely miss all of it like I already am!
