The M. Rahmi Koç Museum is situated on the north side of Haliç (Golden Horn). It includes a new, largely underground, building as well as the historical 'foundry' (Lengerhane) on the southwest part of site. The two buildings are connected by a glass - sided ramp. The foundry is listed as a grade II historical building and is thought to have been built on Byzantine foundations dating from the 12th century. There is documentary evidence that the building was used for casting anchors and their chains during the rule of Ahmet III (1703-1730). It was restored during the reign of Selim III (1789-1807) and was then used by consecutive finance ministries of the Ottoman Empire and of the Turkish Republic until 1951. Then it was handed over to the State Monopoly & Tobacco Factory in Cibali and was used by them for the storage of alcohol. The roof sustained serious fire damage in 1984 and subsequently the building was left derelict. In 1991 it was bought by the Rahmi M. Koç Foundation for Culture and Museums and this was followed by two and a half years of painstaking restoration work. The museum opened on 13 December 1994. |
Most of the items exhibited are selected from Mr. Rahmi Koç's private collection. Other objects are either borrowed from, or donated by, various organisations and individuals. Original machines and their replicas, scientific and mechanical items make up the basis of the museum's exhibits. In the following description of the suggested route for visiting the museum it is convenient to distinguish between the foundry and the new building. Entry to the foundry is through a narrow tunnel which is situated below street level. This tunnel also serves as an exhibition space for cannonballs and parts of cannons and anchors discovered on site during restoration. After the tunnel, staircases to left and right lead to the first floor.
The first floor contains steam engines, steam turbines and several types of boiler that powered industrial machines, sea vessels and land vehicles. Some of the most interesting items are replicas of steam engines of side-propelled ships, gas powered internal combustion engines, hot-air powered engines and working replicas of engines used to power light vehicles during the 1900s. The central, and largest, exhibit is a triple-expansion steam engine made in England in 1911. This was the starboard engine of the passenger ferry No.67 Kalendar which served Bosphorus commuters for many years. She belonged to a company called Şirket-i Hayriye which ran passenger services in İstanbul and to some Turkish ports between 1850 and 1944. A model of the Kalendar is exhibited alongside the engine. |
History
