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Walking through the backstreets of the historic city center of Bursa, we came upon the Bursa Knife Museum (Bursa Bıçak Müzesi). We popped in and were pleasantly surprised. (Note: the museum is permanently closed and apparently the collection has moved to the Bursa City Museum.)
Visiting
The Bursa Knife Museum is open daily except Mondays and admission is free. It’s about a block south of the Bursa City Museum. Unfortunately, everything is in Turkish, but the artwork on the handles and blades of the knives and daggers doesn’t need translation.
Main Building
We entered the museum where the staff greeted us and led us to the first galleries. There were exhibits on the history of knife and dagger production in Bursa as well as a few fine examples. The city is apparently one of the most important for this craft in Turkey.
That would have been enough for us, and as we said thanks to the staff, they informed us there was another building in back.
Courtyard
We walked around the main building and up some stairs to a small courtyard where another staff member, a very nice woman originally from Bosnia, chatted with us for a few minutes. She also pointed out some artwork in the courtyard before leading us to the second building.
Second Building
In the second building, it was knife overload. There were several rooms with photos and knives on exhibit. There were even glass panels on the floor with knives in them.
One room contained swords, and there were a couple replica knife maker’s shops. They came complete with mannequins making knives, and of course several different examples of knives.
My favorite knives on display included a set with the Green Tomb etched onto the blade; a pair with Karagöz and Hacivat handles; a set of börek knives with Bursa-themed blades; and a charcuterie set with tulips etched on the blades.
Conclusion
Overall, we enjoyed the 20 minutes we spend walking through the Bursa Knife Museum. Is it a must-see? Definitely not, but it’s something unique to Bursa and you can’t beat free.
