Istanbul launches restoration of historic Aşiyan Museum
The Istanbul Municipality has launched a restoration project for the historic Aşiyan Museum, the former residence of prominent Turkish poet Tevfik Fikret in the city’s Bebek neighborhood.
The initiative aims to preserve the building’s architecture and Fikret’s intellectual legacy, the municipality’s Deputy Secretary General Mahir Polat said.
“Aşiyan is not just a house. Overwhelmed by the oppressive political climate and despotism of his era, Fikret built this house, which he personally designed, as an escape and a space of liberation,” Polat said in a post on X.
“This unique structure eventually ceased to be just a poet’s sanctuary. It became the home where a generation with ‘free thought and free conscience’ was born, the birthplace of Turkish enlightenment,” he said.
