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The Rahmi M. Koç Museum (Rahmi M. Koç Müzesi) is a technology museum opposite Ankara Castle in Ankara, Turkey. It’s housed in two historic caravanserais, Çengelhan and Safranhan.
Introduction to the Rahmi M. Koç Museum
The Rahmi M. Koç Museum is named for one of the richest businessmen in Turkey. Rahmi Koç was inspired to open a museum after visiting the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The first museum opened in Istanbul in 1991 and the Ankara museum opened in 2005 in Çengelhan. A third museum opened on Cunda Island in 2014.
Visiting the Rahmi M. Koç Museum
The museum is open daily except Mondays. Adult admission for foreigners is 200₺ (as of August 2023). Information is listed in both Turkish and English.
While the museum is one of the best in Ankara, I wouldn’t recommend visiting unless you have some extra time to kill or you’re really interested in technology. It’s not much different than other technology museums around the world.
If you do decide to visit, try not to go if there are school groups. There were probably six different groups of schoolchildren visiting while we were there and we weren’t able to spend as much time in some of the rooms as we would have liked. It was also quite loud as you would imagine.
Exhibits at Çengelhan
Çengelhan is the larger of two historic Ottoman caravanserais containing exhibits for the Ankara branch of the Rahmi M. Koç Museum. It was built between 1522 and 1523 by Rüstem Pasha (c. 1505-1561), a Grand Vizier and son-in-law of Süleyman the Magnificent.
At the time, Çengelhan was regarded as one of the finest caravanserais in the world. It was used well into the 20th century to sell textiles, rope, fruits and vegetables, mohair, rawhide, wool, hardware, grains, and other goods.
Doll Houses
We started exploring Çengelhan on the courtyard of the ground floor, where there’s an interesting exhibit of doll houses built between the 19th and 21st centuries.
The houses contain furniture and household items common to the period in which they were built. In addition to traditional doll houses, there’s a maritime museum built in 1960 as well as a one-room school house built in Germany in 1880.
Rail Transportation
Next are five rooms dedicated to rail transportation. There are several model and toy trains on display, but there are also authentic items used on the Orient Express and other rail lines in Anatolia.
Toys
Continuing counterclockwise are four rooms exhibiting historic toys. We didn’t have much of a chance to go through these rooms because of the school groups visiting the museum. One toy that caught my eye, however, was a model of a roller coaster displayed along with the doll houses.
Craftsmen Street
The next nine rooms at the Rahmi M. Koç Museum made up Craftsmen Street. It recreates trade shops in the early years of the Turkish Republic.
The shops are filled with authentic materials and equipment used by various trades common in the early 20th century.
One of the most interesting shops is a recreation of Vehbi Koç’s hardware store. Vehbi Koç (1901-1996) was the patriarch of the Koç family. He was a self-made billionaire and the founder of one of the largest companies in Turkey.
Atatürk Exhibit
The following two rooms display artifacts related to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic. They were mostly compiled by Colonel Halil Nuri Yurdakul, who fought in the Turkish War of Independence.
Maritime Objects
Heading up to the upper floor are 14 rooms focusing on maritime objects. There are lots of model ships, naval uniforms, and equipment used on ships.
Rahmi and Mustafa Koç Galleries
Next are galleries dedicated to Koç Museum founder Rahmi Koç and his son Mustafa Koç (1960-2016). The Rahmi M. Koç Gallery and Mustafa V. Koç Gallery contain awards, medals, plaques, and gifts given to the two business leaders as well as personal items and photographs.
American Collection
After visiting the galleries, there are eight rooms containing American-made items. The items were collected by Rahmi Koç and deal with hunting, toys, shipping, road and rail transport, and everyday life.
Agriculture Exhibit
Down in the basement are two more sections. One is the agriculture section, which presents models of agricultural machinery as well as the first tractor produced in Turkey.
Medicine and Pharmacy
The other section is dedicated to medicine and pharmacy, containing historic object used in medicine and pharmacies. It begins with a recreation of the Ali Rıza Pharmacy, which opened in Sivas in 1906 and operated for 100 years. It was owned by three generations of the Peker family.
Next are items used in a doctor’s office including medical books, lab equipment, and a 1930s Chivana operating table from the Balıklı Greek Hospital in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul. Antique dental equipment, chairs, and posters round out the exhibit.
Exhibits at Safrahan
Safranhan is the smaller of two historic Ottoman caravanserais at the Rahmi M. Koç Museum in Ankara. It was built in 1511 by Hacı Ibrahim bin Hacı Mehmed of Kayseri. It’s a 2-story building with an open courtyard in the center with a total of 42 barrel-vaulted rooms.
Safranhan lost its importance as a commercial building and functioned for a short time as a prison after the foundation of the Turkish Republic. It was used as a warehouse before it was purchased by the Rahmi M. Koç Museum in 2012, and its restoration took four years.
Communication Exhibit
We entered Safranhan on the upper level, where we started our visit in a counter-clockwise direction. The first ten rooms dealt with communication. On display were historic models of computers, video games, radios, televisions, cameras, typewriters, business equipment, and other contraptions.
Scientific Instruments
Next were two rooms exhibiting scientific instruments such as astrolabes, timekeepers, and more. We couldn’t visit the rooms because they were packed with students.
Aviation Exhibit
Rounding the corner are two rooms dedicated to aviation. It includes several scale models of historic planes, but what caught my eye were artifacts salvaged from the crash site of Hadley’s Harem.
The British B-24D Liberator was involved in bombing oil refineries in Ploiești, Romania, on August 1, 1943. It took heavy damage from a German fighter and tried to fly to the British base in Cyprus, but ended up ditching near Antalya. The plane itself was salvaged in 1995, restored, and put on display in the Rahmi M. Koç Museum in Istanbul.
Everyday Life
The following two rooms are education workshops, then the next four around the corner focus on everyday life. It includes rooms set up with household items used in different time periods.
One of the most interesting items was a futuristic looking dishwasher, the Leydi Sim. It was produced in 1978 by Simtel, a Koç Group company.
Old Ankara Office of Rahmi Koç
Hidden in a room heading down the stairwell is the old Ankara office of Rahmi Koç. It includes a silicon mannequin of Koç along with authentic furniture and accessories from his office.
Road Transportation Exhibit
On the ground floor are ten rooms dedicated to road transportation, with several vehicles in the courtyard as well. In the rooms are several models of cars and other vehicles as well as motorcycles, baby carriages, and more.
In the courtyard are antique cars such as an original 1922 Ford Model T taxi. There’s also a 1955 Messerschmitt, a 1918 Ford Model T, and a 1931 Ford Model A pickup.
Engineering Exhibit
The engineering section is presented in five rooms and in the courtyard. There are scale models as well as full-size steam, diesel, and gas engines.
Printing Exhibit
The final section in Safranhan focuses on printing. It displays machines used for printing, paper cutting, and binding as well as books, newspapers, and magazines.
