İSTANBUL PTT MUSEUM

Sirkeci, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'52.5"N 28°58'27.0"E / 41.014597, 28.974174



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The first Post-Office was opened under the name of “Postahane-i Amire” (Department of Post Office) at the courtyard of Yeni Camii (Mosque) in İstanbul, and the first officials, Süleyman Ağa, collector Sofyalı Ağyazar were appointed as translators in order to translate the addresses of postal items written in languages other than Turkish.

In 1871, the Ministry of Post and the Directorate of Telegraph were united under the name of Ministry of Post and Telegraph. In 1876 international postal transportation network had been established, and in 1901, acceptance of parcel and money order was started to be accepted. After the establishment of the first manual telephone exchange in İstanbul on 23 May 1909, the Ministry of Post and Telegraph was turned into the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone in 1909 and it took the name of the General Directorate of Post, Telegraph and Telephone in 1913.

The General Directorate of PTT which had served as subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the early years of our Republic, became subordinate to the Ministry of Public Works as an annexed budget administration in 1933, and since 1939 has been carrying out its services as subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation.

As the result of the developments that have been experienced with the Firman of Reform, the first Postal Organization was established as the Ministry on 23 October 1840, for the purpose of satisfying the postal needs of the whole community of the Ottoman Empire and foreigners. 11 years later, following the invention of telegraph in 1843, telegraph service had been started also in our country, and a separate Directorate of Telegraph had been established in 1855 in order to provide this service.

Although we all have occasion to pass through Istanbul’s Sirkeci district from time to time, there is one place we rarely notice in the hubbub of everyday life: the Great Post Office. This historic four-story structure, which was built a hundred years ago as the Ministry of Post and Telegraph, hosts an important museum today, the PTT Museum, where the history of communications and telecommunications in Turkey from the Ottoman period to the Turkish Republic is laid out for all to see.

History

1840 The Ministry of Post was established
1855 Directorate of Telegraph was established
1871 The Ministry of Post and The Directorate of Telegraph where merged
1901 Money order transactions were started to be accepted
1909 After the commencement of the telephone services, the institution was turned into the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone
1939 As being the General Directorate of PTT, it was bounded to The Ministry of Transportation
1984 It was transferred into the status of State Economic Establishment
1995 The General Directorate of PTT was restructured as The General Directorate of Posts and Turkish Telecommunication Coop. Automation was started for money order and postal cheque transactions
1999 Cooperation was started with Garanti Bank (Korfezbank) for collection transactions
2000 The name of the legal entity, The General Directorate of Posts  was changed into The General Directorate of Post and Telegraph Organization.
2004 PTTBank’s name was registered officially.

As the result of the developments that have been experienced with the Firman of Reform, the first Postal Organization was established as the Ministry on 23 October 1840, for the purpose of satisfying the postal needs of the whole community of the Ottoman Empire and of foreigners. The first Post-Office was opened under the name of "Postahane-I Amire" ( Department of Post-Office) at the courtyard of Yeni Camii (Mosque) in İstanbul, and the first officials, Süleyman Ağa, collector Sofyalı Ağyazar were appointed as translators in order to translate the addresses of postal items written in languages other than Turkish.

11 years later, following the invention of telegraph in 1843, telgraph service had been started also in our country, and a separate Directorate of Telegraph had been established in 1855 in order to provide this service. In 1871, the Ministry of Post and the Directorate of Telegraph where united under the name of Ministry of Post and Telegraph. In 1876 international postal transportation network had been established, and in 1901, parcel and money order were started to be accepted.

After the establishment of the first manual telephone exchange in Istanbul on 23 May 1909, the Ministry of Post and Telegraph was turned into the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone in 1909 and it took the name of the General Directorate of Post, Telegraph and Telephone  in 1913. The General Directorate of PTT which had served as subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the early years of our Republic, became subordinate to the  Ministry of Public Works an Settlement as an annexed budget administration in 1933, and since 1939 has been carrying out its services as subordinate to the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications.

General Directorate of PTT, which became a State Economic Enterprise (SEE) in 1954, has been transferred into the status of the State Economic Establishment (SEE) by the Decree Law No. 233 on Reorganization of the State Enterprises in 1984. By the Law dated 18.06.1994 and No. 4000,  the General Directorate of PTT was restructured and divided into two as, the General Directorate of Posts and Turk Telecom Coop. , and the General Directorate of Posts  started to give service  independently since 24.04.1995.

The name of Our Administration which had been "The General Directorate of Posts" was amended as "The General Directorate of  Post and Telegraph Organization  (PTT) " under the Article 24 of the Law No.4502, which  entered into force by being published in the Official Newspaper numbered 23948, dated 29.01.2000.

Museum

The PTT (Post - Telephone - Telegram company) museum in Istanbul is located inside the historic building of main post office at Sirkeci neighborhood. It houses several old phone units, telegram machines, first stamp from 1863 and other late Ottoman or early Republic period stamps, old seals and mail boxes, postal clerk uniforms, and some photos of the first communication systems in Turkey. From the ancestors of the cell phone to the original telexes, all the ‘firsts’ of communications in Turkey are on display at the PTT Museum in Istanbul Sirkeci.

Museum Building
The Main Post Office (Turkish: Büyük Postane), which houses the museum, is a historical four-story building designed by architect Vedat Tek (1873–1942) in First Turkish National architectural style. It was constructed between 1905 and 1909 during the last period of the Ottoman Empire as the building of the Ministry of Post and Telegraph (Ottoman Turkish: Posta ve Telgraf Nezareti‎). Later, it was turned into a post office.

The museum has a separate entrance and occupies four stories in the western part of the building. It informs visitors about the country's history of communication and telecommunication services that officially began on October 23, 1840 with the foundation of the Ottoman Ministry of Post (Ottoman Turkish: Posta Nezareti‎). Established on May 6, 2000 by the Turkish Post, the museum consists of four sections for mail, telegraph, telephone and postage stamps. Photos taken during the construction of the building are also on exhibit.

The museum is divided into four sections: post, telegraph, telephone and stamps. And the first people that come to mind at the mention of the postal service are on hand to greet us at the entrance. Our acquaintance with them dates back to childhood. Indeed, we even sang a song about them in primary school: “Look, the postman is coming!” From the mounted couriers who carried the mail in the 19th century to the postmen who took over the same function in the Constitutional and Republican periods, they stand here attired in the uniforms of their time.

And then the vast array of mailboxes. The painstakingly fashioned contemporaries of the first stamps, issued in 1863, and the later, sturdier ones in whose design aesthetics played little role. Among them, one painted red and standing in the corner grabs our attention. It bears an inscription, ‘Bucharest Mail Box Ottoman Field Post (1914)’. Field boxes were used for communications between soldiers marching off to the front and their friends and relatives back home. Who knows what yearnings were stanched by these desert mailboxes which, in the beginning at least, required no stamps but for which special stamps were later issued.

Another object that catches our attention in this section is a war scene from the Ottoman period depicting the allied troops, Turks also among them, entering Sebastopol in 1855 following their victory in the Crimean War. The painting is included here for its direct link with the first telegram ever sent in the Ottoman Empire, which was dispatched from Şumnu to Istanbul following completion of the Istanbul-Edirne and Istanbul-Şumnu lines. Reporting on the Crimean War, the telegram read: "Allied troops enter Sebastopol".

Now we are on the top floor. Opening the door of a room, Museum Supervisor turns to us. “This was the office of Manastırlı Hamdi Bey”, she says, “preserved unchanged from his day”. For those who don’t know, let us hasten to explain that Hamdi Bey of Manastır (in Ottoman Macedonia) was the man who had the bitter task of informing Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) of the occupation of Istanbul on the morning of 16 March 1920.

Blow by blow he relayed to Ankara an account of the occupation of the War Ministry and the situation in Istanbul, continuing to send his dispatches even as trucks carrying enemy troops were drawing up in front of the Great Post Office. Only when the first enemy soldier actually entered the building was the transmission interrupted. The instrument that conveyed that grim news stands here still, together with Manastırlı Hamdi Bey’s desk and chair. And on the wall a photograph of him, with a smile on his lips, follows us from beyond time.

Have you ever heard of a postage stamp printed on cigarette paper? Well, we never did either until we came here. The first Turkish stamp, issued by Minister of the Post Agâh Efendi on 13 January 1863, was printed at the Ottoman Imperial Mint on thin cigarette paper. Also in a section on this floor are exhibits of all the Turkish stamps issued from that period up to the present as well as issues by member countries of the Universal Postal Union.

On the second floor of the museum are the telephones that can be regarded as the ancestors of today’s highly sophisticated mobiles. Magneto- or battery-powered, dial and non-dial, in both wall and desk models. Among this rare collection is an exact replica of the original telephone made by Alexander Graham Bell in 1882, a gift of the Alcatel-Bell firm on the 150th anniversary of the founding of the PTT. By adding a dial, PTT technicians have adapted it for use today.

Although the telephone was first introduced in Istanbul during the period of Sultan Abdülhamid II, it came into widespread use only following the promulgation of the Second Constitution in 1908. Nevertheless, since these first telephones were not automatic, communications were only possible via a "santral" or central switchboard. At the outset it was to be operated by Istanbul’s so-called "mademoiselles", in other words, girls from the city’s Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities.

But since most of these girls spoke heavily accented Turkish, this plan soon had to be abondoned owing to customer dissatisfaction. Introducing the principle of "speaking with an Istanbul accent on Istanbul telephones", the company laid down the condition that applicants for the job of switchboard operator must have pleasant voices. Since the city’s female inhabitants were reluctant to expose themselves publicly in this way, recourse was had from time to time to the many foreign-run schools in the city. In 1914, for example, an examination was held at the French Girls’ Lycée in Kadıköy.

Among those who passed was Bedia (Muvahhit) Hanım, who would subsequently claim the title of first great actress of the Turkish stage. Until she embarked on her career in the theater, Bedia Hanım’s melodic voice could be heard answering callers at the Beyoğlu switchboard. The invisible and mysterious bond that formed between the switchboard operators and the telephone subscribers lasted until the introduction of the first automatic telephones in 1931.

During this process, telephones came down from the wall onto the desk, their dimensions diminished, and aesthetics began to take precedence in their design. It was therefore a bittersweet pleasure that was enjoyed by the residents of the city’s European side when the first "unmediated" (without the intervention of a switchboard operator) calls became possible on the night of 29 October 1931. Subscribers felt as if they had suddenly lost a friend.

Our guide takes us into another gallery where she points out three tiny figures: the "postal couriers". Couriers were the men who carried the official documents sent from the Imperial Court in Istanbul to the authorities in the provinces. Dressed in special uniforms, they were carefully selected from among the most trusted and strongest men and the best riders. If their destination was a distant place, they changed mounts at posting stations known as "menzilhane".

Their journeys took them through some of the most isolated and untraveled regions of the empire. Galloping over hill and dale, at times they even bore arms against the threat of bandits and wild animals. Some sources also state that news of the great Ottoman military victories at Kosovo and Çaldıran were brought back to Istanbul by such couriers.

There is much more to be seen and described at the PTT Museum. Couriers’ uniforms, weapons, the switchboards where the mademoiselles were employed, teletypewriters and the original telexes, to name just a few. Open every day from Monday through Friday, the museum is waiting for you to take a stroll down memory lane. For you will certainly find there numerous reminders of your lost childhood and youth.

The Istanbul Postal Museum, aka PTT Museum Istanbul (Turkish: PTT İstanbul Müzesi), is a postal museum dedicated to the historical development of mail and telecommunication services in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, exhibiting related equipment and instruments as well as a collection of postage stamps. It was established in 2000 by the Turkish Post, and is situated inside the Grand Post Office building at Sirkeci quarter of Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mail
Examples of various uniforms worn by military couriers and mail carriers from the Constitutional era in the beginning of the 20th century and from the Republican era after 1923 to present time can be seen fitted on dolls and mannequins. Historical postal service items like mail satchels, mail pouches, mail sacks, letter boxes, locator maps, franking machines from the Ottoman and Republican era are on display.

Telegraph
An inscription plate of the first telegraph office shows the year 1855. A painting depicting a battle scene from the Crimean War (1853–1856) affiliates with the first use of telegraphy in the Ottoman Empire on September 9, 1855. A telegraph was dispatched from Shumen (Bulgaria, then Ottoman Empire) to the capital Istanbul relayed in Edirne. The message reads "Allied troops entered Sevastopol." (Ottoman Turkish: Asâkir-i müttefika Sivastopol'a girmişlerdir.‎) to report the victory of the Allied troops, along with the Ottomans, ending the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) during the Crimean War.

On the third floor, the telegraphy room of clerk Hamdi Bey of Monastır (today Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia) is preserved unchanged from those days with all the historical equipment. He was in charge when the Allied troops of World War I (1914–1918) occupied Istanbul on March 16, 1920 following the Armistice of Mudros. He sent messages to Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) in Ankara using Morse telegraph about the situation in Istanbul until he was stopped by the enemy soldiers, who entered the post office building.

Later period's teletypewriters and an original telex machine is on exhibit as well.

Telephone
The second floor hosts various early telephone instruments and related equipment. There are telephones with hand-cranked magneto generator or battery-powered, rotary dial and pushbutton dial telephones in both wall and desk versions, also produced in Turkish PTT factories, telephone switchboards, elektromechanical automatic telephone exchanges.

Also an exact replica of Alexander Graham Bell's (1842–1922) original telephone from 1882 is exhibited here. It was a gift from Alcatel-Lucent company in 1990 on the 150th anniversary of Turkish Post's establishment. An example of telephone switchboard can be seen, which enabled to manually connect telephone subscribers. The installation of the first elektromechanical automatic telephone exchange in Turkey was accomplished on October 23, 1931 making the switchboard operators superfluous.

Postage stamps
The first Turkish postage stamp was issued by Post Minister Agah Efendi (1832–1885) on January 13, 1863. It was printed at the Ottoman Imperial Mint on thin cigarette paper. Postage stamp issues of Universal Postal Union's member countries are also on display along with the stamps of the Ottoman and Republican era as well as first day covers issued after the 1950s.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : İstanbul PTT Museum

MORE INFO & CONTACT
Phone : +90 212 520 9037 / +90 444 1788

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

RAHMI M. KOÇ INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM / TECHNOLOGY

Hasköy - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°02'30.0"N 28°56'55.0"E 8 41.041667, 28.948611



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The Rahmi M. Koç Industrial Museum is fortunate to be housed in two splendid, historical building complexes on the shores of the Golden Horn, at the heart of old Istanbul. These buildings are themselves icons of industrial archaeology, which makes it all the more appropriate that they now host our collection of industrial exhibits. The museum now has more than 11,000 square meters of galleries.

The Lengerhane
Now a Class II historical monument, this former Ottoman Navy anchor foundry was constructed on the 12th Century foundations of a Byzantine building during the reign of Sultan Ahmet III. (By the way, "lenger" means "anchor and chain", and "hane" means "house"). The building was subsequently restored in the reign of Sultan Selim III (1789 - 1807), before passing into the ownership of Ministry of Finance and finally, in the Republican era, the Turkish State Monopolies' Cibali Tobacco factory.

The Koç Foundation bought the first museum building in 1991, which was left derelict and seriously damaged after a roof fire in 1984 and the building was effectively abandoned until it was purchased by the Rahmi M Koç Museum and Culture Foundation in 1991.

The Hasköy Dockyard
This historic dockyard was founded in 1861 by the former Ottoman Maritime Company (Şirket-i Hayriye) for the maintenance and repair of its own ships. The yard initially comprised just two workshop buildings, and was gradually extended as needs and opportunities arose. A 45 m long cradle, powered by a steam capstan was constructed in 1884: later, in 1910, a second cradle was added and the capstan converted to electric power.

Some of the earliest ferry boats were constructed here, including public favourites such as the Kocataş and Sarıyer vessels laid down in 1938 and in service for nearly half a century. The dockyard went through many changes of State Ownership before ending up under the control of the Ministry of Communications In 1984. It was finally purchased by the Rahmi M Koç Museum and Culture Foundation in 1996.

The Restorations
The Rahmi M Koç Museum was founded in the Lengerhane building. The Lengerhane itself had been purchased in 1991 and was the subject of a thorough and sympathetic restoration by the firm of Garanti Koza. The original building was supplemented by an underground gallery reached by a long glazed ramp, and finally opened in December 1994. The first phase of the Museum rapidly outgrew itself, and in 1996 the Hasköy Dockyard, then just a ruin on the shores of the Golden Horn opposite the Lengerhane, was purchased. 14 derelict buildings plus the historic ship cradle and lathes were faithfully restored to their original condition, and the second phase opened to the public in July 2001.

The two buildings are on the same road, on opposite sides: the dockyard part of the complex is on the shores of the Golden Horn. A glass-sided ramp leads down to the basement exhibition area of the Lengerhane.

This exhibition section is divided into several subject, where you can enjoy a glimpse of the thousands of wonderful objects in our collection. On this page we show a few of the museum's favourites, arranged in the order in which they would be visited.

COMMUNICATIONS
Few aspects of modern life have advanced so dramatically, nor changed our lives so completely, as that of communications. Just about 120 years ago, the only way to contact someone abroad was by letter, taking weeks for a reply. Now we can talk directly from virtually anywhere to anywhere via a mobile phone. This revolution started with the telegraph, which could transmit on-off signals in code: voice communication was not possible until the advent of the telephone in 1873. The next major advance was wireless, invented by Marconi in 1896. Meanwhile, visual imaging proceeded in two parallel paths - the chemical one for normal cameras and films, and the digital one for television and the internet.

Rotary Dial Telephone
Before the days of buttons, the classic rotary dial strongly influenced the look of telephones. This much-traveled example was built in Sweden in 1920 by Ericsson, and then exported to Turkey. It was purchased in Istanbul and restored back in Sweden with the assistance of the Turkish Ambassador there.

Phonograph
The second Edison object in our collections is this cylinder phonograph, where the sound was recorded on a wax cylinder rather than a shellac disc. It was manufactured in 1903 by the Edison Company in America, and bears the serial number 5290773.

Gramophone
A 1930 HMV Model 21 Gramophone, made in England by The Gramophone Company, owner of the His Master’s Voice trademark. Gramophone needles of several brands like Dog and Baby, Solo, D.F. Tayler are being exhibited alongside this Gramophone.

J. Lancaster & Son Camera
Plate camera made in 1885 by J. Lancaster & Son, Birmingham, England and used with glass negatives.

Thomas Edison Patent Model
One of the most significant items in the collection is this 22nd Februrary 1876 patent model by Thomas Edison, describing a method of improving the telegraph system so that it could send alphabetic letters instead of symbols. Edison was one of the most prolific and significant inventors of all time, and his patent models are much sought after by museums and collectors alike.

Valve Amplifier
An unusual separate amplifier form an age when sound systems were usually all in one box. Built in about 1936 by Western Electric, USA, it boasts two enormous 'tubes', otherwise known as thermionic valves. Unlike today's transistors, these gave off enormous amounts of heat (and light); hence the large holes in the case.

Zoetrope
The Zoetrope was invented in 1835 by Englishman William Horner and was one of the many precursors of the modern cine-projector, and operated on the same principle of presenting a rapid succession of different pictures to the eye - in this case, when the drum rotated and its interior is viewed through the vertical slots.

ENGINEERING
When the young James Watt tried to hold down the lid of a boiling kettle, he little realised what a revolution he was starting. Before steam, the world relied on human, animal, wind or water power. The earliest steam engines were massive and stationary: they powered pumping stations and entire factories, via belt drives. Later, they became portable, and were eventually replaced by more convenient and economical gas, petrol, or diesel power plants. The museum has a wide selection of engineering exhibits, from delicate working models to a massive, 20' high triple expansion marine steam engine.

Steam Engine from "SS Kalendar"
A fine triple-expansion steam engine from the Bosphorus ferry boat Kalender, manufactured in by Şirket-i Hayriye 1911 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, by the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company.  The Kalender had two main engines, and this was the starboard one. This fine triple expansion steam engine  was in use from 1911 until the mid-1980s.

Olive Oil Factory
A lovingly recreated and authentic industrial scene, incorporating all the elements of an actual olive oil factory from Bademli on the Aegean Coast. See the original steam engine turning and operating the drive belts and millstones. Other items include the original crushed olive presses and boiler front, plus many other historical details.

Portable Stationary Engine
Manufactured in 1872 at the Britannia Iron Works by William Marshall & Co. of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Marshall built similar steam engines of 2 - 12 hp capacity, before moving into the agricultural tractor business, including some unique tracked models. The firm was in existence from 1848 to 1992.

Marshall Portable Engine
A portable engine is a small steam engine, mounted on wheels or skids, it is not self-propelled and is towed to the work site by horses or bullocks, or even a traction engine. Portable engines were used mainly for driving agricultural machinery, such as threshing machines. This type of engine was introduced in 1872 and was produced in a range of sizes from 2 hp to 12 hp. This example was manufactured by Marshall Sons & Co circa 1910.

Crossley Engine
Stationary engines, frequently burning gas, were a vital part of 19th century industry, often being used to power independent electricity generators. The Manchester firm of Crossley, founded in Manchester by brothers Frank and William Crossley in 1867, was famous for its small engines. They later diversified into manufacture of buses and cars.

Wood Saw
One of the few remaining parts of the original Şirket-i Hayriye dockyard, this important and historic wood saw was made in Glasgow, Scotland, by the steel engineering firm of P & W MacLellan (1822 - 1979). It is still in fully functioning condition nearly 150 years later.

Compound Steam Engine
This interesting marine compound (i.e. the steam passes from one cylinder to another - lower pressure - cylinder in order to extract the maximum energy) steam engine was manufactured in Britain and dates from 1900. It was found in the engine room of the 1950s tugboat Tekirdağ.

HANDS-ON
Education is the primary duty of any responsible Museum, and the Rahmi M Koç Museum is proud of the fact that more than 60% of its visitors are school children. Of course, in a sense the entire collection is educational, but we have specifically arranged some exhibits and activities for children to try out and thereby be both entertained and informed. To find out more about our formal education activities at the Museum.

Cutaway Car
A fully detailed working cutaway of a modern FIAT Palio prepared and donated by Tofaş, the Koç-FIAT joint venture in Turkey. Not only can the detailed construction of the body work be seen, but also the operation of the engine and gearbox.

Bellanca Aeroplane
We are fortunate indeed to be able to exhibit this full-size real aircraft in this gallery. At weekends, a qualified expert shows visitors around the plane, and it is even possible to sit in the cockpit and try out the controls.

Scientific Experiments
The Hands-On gallery contains a series of specially-created demonstrations and experiments, designed to illustrate a variety of mechanical and physics principles. At weekends, a special teacher/instructor is on hand to show children around and explain the purpose and effect of each experiment.

Cutaway Domestic Goods
The cutaway car and lorries are joined by a fascinating array of working domestic goods, each piece sectioned or transparent with working mechanisms and co-ordinated lights to explain their function. Listen to a tape or CD player, watch a TV or computer, and understand the inner secrets of a dishwasher or vacuum cleaner!

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
The boundary between equipment built for scientific purposes, and that made for practical purposes, is not clear. Thus our collection includes such varied items as air pumps, sextants, and slide rules. One great museological advantage of old instruments is that it is usually possible to see how they work - unlike today's 'black boxes'. Even if the principle is obscure, for example in the Wimshurst machine illustrated below, the mechanical interaction of parts is usually relatively easy for the layman to follow.

Wimshurst Machine
This Wimshurst machine by Philip Harris & Co. of Birmingham and Dublin is an early form of electrostatic generator. When properly adjusted, this particular example can produce sparks up to an inch long, and literally make your hair stand on end. The Wimshurst Machine, invented by James Wimshurst (1832-1903), is an early electrostatic apparatus for generating high voltages. This example is a school demonstration model, capable of producing up to 30,000 volts.

Cary Pocket Microscope
William Cary (1759-1825) was a prominent maker of mathematical instruments. This small microscope was designed by one of his apprentices, Charles Gould, in London, England circa 1840

Fuller Cylindrical Slide Rule
Fuller cylindrical slide rule is a very long and hence more accurate slide rule, used circa 1940. It can be made more compact by wrapping the scales spirally round a cylinder.
 
Celestial Globe
This globe was made by Cafer İbn-i Ömer İbn Devletşah el-Kırmani between 1383 and 1384. It is one of the oldest globes known. There is a full set of constellation figures with about 1,025 stars indicated by points punched in small silver inserts on it. On loan from the Bosphorus University Kandilli Observatory.

Grand Orrery
A fine 19th Century Grand Orrery with ivory balls to represent the then known planets - as far as Neptune - together with their satellites and some of the major asteroids. The instrument is geared so that all the spheres rotate at the correct relative speeds.

Marine Chronometer
Two-day chronometer No. 3826 by David Stalker, of Leith, Scotland. In order to navigate at sea, one must know the true time as well as the angular measurement to sun or stars. The marine chronometer is especially designed to keep accurate time at sea, despite the stresses of motion and temperature change.

Strasbourg Turret Clock
This fine early movement comes from a turret in Strasbourg, France. This type of clock was usually installed in church towers where there was plenty of height for the weights to drop. They had no dial, but told the time by striking the hours on a bell.

MODELS & TOYS
Testament to our founder, Mr Rahmi M Koç's lifelong enthusiasm for models and miniatures, our superb collection of models and toys is mostly housed in the Lengerhane building - though a few may also be found in the relevant galleries of the new Hasköy Dockyard as well. Cars, lorries, ships, yachts, locomotives, and carriages are all strongly represented, as are fine, working models of stationary engines. We also have an extensive and important collection of toys through the ages, some of which can be seen in our replica Toyshop.

Model Locomotive Fire King
An historically important contemporary model made, signed and dated by Josiah Evans Haydock in 1841. He became a well-known locomotive engineer, and in 1874 designed the Bellerophon, still in service in Yorkshire, England and believed to be the oldest operating locomotive in the world. Kindly donated by Hochtief A.G. This important and historic model of a very early steam locomotive of 2-2-2 configuration was built by Josiah Evans when he was just 21 years old.

Marine Steam Engine
Perhaps the finest in our entire collection, this superb 1/10 scale model shows the main engine of the steamship Sussex Trader, built in 1947 by Sir James Laing & Sons of Sunderland. The engine represented was built at Wallsend by the North-East Marine Engineering Co., and is of the reversing, triple expansion reheater type.

Aveling & Porter Steamroller
Thomas Aveling & Richard Thomas Porter entered into partnership in 1862, and subsequently produced more steam engines than all the other British manufactures combined. This is a model of a 1920’s eight ton steamroller, used in road construction. It was built from original drawings. A fine scale model (built from the original works drawings) of a 1922 Aveling and Porter 'Dual-Reverse' Road Roller, used for smoothing the finish on asphalt roads. This particular type was known as The Coffeepot Roller because of the unusual shape of the boiler.

Model of the TS Savarona
The Savarona was built by the German firm of Blohm & Voss for an American heiress in 1931, and was later purchased by the Turkish government for the use of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk when he was advised to take a sea-cruise for his health. This 1/125 scale model was made by Mr. Süleyman Alper in 1993.

Model Triple Expansion Marine Engine
This superb 1/10 scale model shows the main engine of the British Steamship ‘Sussex Trader’, built in 1947 by Sir James Laing & Sons of Sunderland for the Trader Navigation Company. The engine itself was built at Wallsend by the North-East Marine Engineering Co. and was of the reversing, triple expansion reheater type.

Queen Mary
This naive model of the famous Cunard liner the SS Queen Mary is mounted on wheels so that it can be pulled by a child. More than 4' (1.3 meters) long, it is one of the largest metal toy boats ever made.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Rahmi M. Koç Technology Museum

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : info@rmk-museum.org.tr
Phone : +90 212 369 6600
Fax : +90 212 369 6606

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.