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The Edirne Turkish and Islamic Art Museum (Edirne Türk ve İslam Eserleri Müzesi) is located at the UNESCO World Heritage listed Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey. It displays important works of art as well as some historical and ethnographic items.
Hadith School
The Edirne Turkish and Islamic Art Museum is housed in the former Hadith School (Dar’ül Hadis Medresesi) of the Selimiye Mosque. The structure was completed in 1571 and has functioned as a museum since 1924. The Edirne Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, which is now located across the street, was housed there from 1924 to 1971.
The Hadith School consists of a rectangular courtyard surrounded by porticos on each side. A large room with a dome on the west side of the courtyard served as the classroom and a small mosque. The other rooms surrounding the courtyard were cells for students and teachers. The courtyard provides some good views of the Selimiye Mosque as well.
Visiting
The Edirne Turkish and Islamic Art Museum is open daily. Admission is 60₺ (as of November 2023). The collection is broken down into several sections spread out in the different rooms of the school. The museum is well-organized and contains some impressive pieces. It’s definitely worth a visit and doesn’t take a lot of time to go through.
Mimar Sinan Room
Visits to the museum start in a room dedicated to Mimar Sinan (1490-1588), the architect of the Selimiye Mosque complex. It includes a wax figure of Mimar Sinan standing at a table and stroking his beard.
Calligraphy Room
Next is the Calligraphy Room (Hat Eserleri Odası), which displays samples of the finest calligraphy attached to paper, stone, wood, glass, and leather. The oldest works in the room were created by Ottoman calligrapher Sheikh Hamdullah (1436-1520). Sets of writing instruments are also exhibited.
Weapons Rooms
The first of the Weapons Rooms (Silah Odaları) includes swords, daggers, axes, arrows, and other sharp weapons from the 18th and 19th centuries. Helmets and chain mail are also on display.
The second of the Weapons Rooms showcases flintlock rifles and pistols from the 17th and 18th centuries. Many are decorated with precious stones or intricate designs.
Glass and Leather Goods Room
The Glass and Leather Goods Room (Cam ve Deri Eşyalar Odası) displays vases, lamps, pitchers, sherbet glasses, and other items made of glass and crystal. There are also leather goods such as bags and saddlebags.
Woodworks Room
Wooden architectural items, decorations, and tools are exhibited in the Woodworks Room (Ahşap Eserler Odası). Dowry chests, writing desks, and other pieces of furniture are also on display.
Tile and Ceramic Room
The Tile and Ceramic Room (Çini ve Seramik Odası) includes a collection of 19th century Çanakkale ceramics. Iznik and Kütahya tiles from the Şah Melek Pasha and Selimiye Mosques in Edirne are also on display.
Sarayiçi Room
16th and 17th century tiles and ceramic plates excavated from Edirne Palace in 1971 are exhibited in the Sarayiçi Room (Sarayiçi Odası). The ruins of the palace are a short walk from the historic city center.
Islamic Coins Room
The Islamic Coins Room (İslami Sikkeler Odası) features Ottoman coins and banknotes. There’s also a vase containing coins found in March 1992 in the Hamitli Village near Uzunköprü. They date to the reign of Sultans Selim I and Süleyman the Magnificent in the 16th century.
Balkan War Room
A bloodied standard used by the 174th Regiment during the First Balkan War is on display in the Balkan War Room (Balkan Harbi Odası). It symbolizes the liberation of Edirne from Bulgaria. Other items from the war are also in the room.
Weaver’s Room
The Weaver’s Room (Dokumacı Odası) includes an authentic loom and other tools used to transform cotton, wool, or silk into fabric. The loom happens to be the oldest in Thrace and was donated to the museum by the Yaveroğlu family.
Saddler and Shoemaker Room
The Saddler and Shoemaker’s Room (Saraç ve Ayakkabıcı Odası) exhibits tools and items used to make saddles and shoes. They came from one of the last of such shops on Saraçlar Street.
Circumcision Room
The Turkish tradition of circumcision is displayed in the Circumcision Room (Sünnet Odası), which features beautifully embroidered bedding, clothing, jewelry, and carpets.
Kitchen Utensils Room
The Kitchen Utensils Room (Mutfak Eşyaları Odası) includes pots, pans, coffee sets, and other utensils traditionally used in Ottoman kitchens.
Lodge Items Room
The largest room in the Hadith School, the classroom, now functions as the Lodge Items Room (Tekke Eşyaları Odası). When lodges were closed by the government after the foundation of the Turkish Republic, various items such as prayer beads, prayer books, manuscripts, calligraphy, jewelry, clapboards, chisels, and instruments were donated to the museum.
Kırkpınar Room
In the Kırkpınar Room (Kırkpınar Odası), there are photos of famous wrestlers from the Kırkpınar tournament. The tournament has been held annually in Edirne since 1360.
Portico Galleries
Several items are displayed in the porticos as visitors walk from room to room. One interesting is a large inscription featuring the Ottoman coat of arms. Nearby is another inscription that used to depict the Ottoman coat of arms, but was scratched out and reshaped by Greek forces during the occupation of Edirne by Greece (1920-1922).
Courtyard
Finally, in the courtyard of the Edirne Turkish and Islamic Art Museum are tombstones, rare Janissary tombstones, inscriptions from Ottoman structures, food carts, and cannons used during the First Balkan War.
