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The Ottoman House Museum (Osmanlı Evi Müzesi) is one of the oldest wooden structures in Bursa, Turkey. It’s located in the Muradiye district.
Visiting
The museum is open to visitors daily from 8am to 5pm and admission is free (as of March 2024). It sits just outside the Muradiye Complex. There really isn’t much to see and very little explanation, but it only take a few minutes to visit.
History
The Ottoman House Museum is a 17th century wooden Ottoman mansion. It’s believed to sit on the site of the 15th century palace of Sultan Murad II. Although he was born in Edirne, local legend states Mehmed the Conqueror was born at the palace.
The house first opened to the public as a museum in 1958. It was restored in 1973 and closed to visitors in 1992. Another restoration took place in 2005 after which it was once again reopened to the public.
Details
Visitors enter on the north side through a small courtyard. The structure has a basement, an elevated ground floor, and an upper floor. The basement was reserved for servants while the upper floors were for the owners of the house.
The ground floor has a central lounge with a room attached to each side. They’re decorated with carpets and sofas. The ceilings are low in this part of the house.
The upper floor contains the same floor plan, but the ceilings are high and adorned with beautiful decorations. There’s also a small side lounge.
The larger room was reserved for men. It’s illuminated by 14 windows and displays fine examples of items used in the period. The room has a fireplace and the cabinet doors are decorated with hand-drawn flowers.
The women’s room is more plain. It also displays items used in the period, including a hand-carved wooden cradle.
