Aşiyan Museum

The Aşiyan Museum is located in the Aşiyan neighborhood of Beşiktaş district in Istanbul and is the former residence of Tevfik, one of the most prominent poets of Turkish literature and Servet-i Fünûn community. Tevfik Fikret named the house “Aşiyan,” derived from the Persian word meaning “nest” or “bird’s nest.” Converted into a museum in 1945, this building preserves the memory of important figures who contributed to Turkish literature. Additionally, the Aşiyan Museum is the first literature museum in Türkiye. It is affiliated with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Directorate of Libraries and Museums.

History

In 1905, Tevfik Fikret sold his father’s mansion in Aksaray and purchased the plot of land adjacent to Robert College, beginning construction of Âşiyân, for which he designed every aspect of the plans and drawings himself. Aşiyan was built as a three-story structure commanding a view over the Bosphorus. Tevfik Fikret lived in this house until his death in 1915.

The museum was purchased from the poet’s widow, Nazime Fikret, by the Istanbul Municipality in 1940 and opened in 1945 under the name “Edebiyat-ı Cedide Museum.” In 1961, its name was changed to “Aşiyan Museum,” and in accordance with Tevfik Fikret’s will, his remains, previously interred at on Eyüp, were transferred to the garden of the Aşiyan Museum.

Sections of the Museum

All architectural plans and designs of the museum and its garden belong to the poet. The Aşiyan Museum consists of three floors. The ground floor includes a dining room, kitchen, laundry room, pantry, and a room dedicated to the poet’s wife, Şair Nigar Hanım. The poet had the seaside-facing section of the laundry room left open as a cave opening and named it “Socrates’s Window.”

The first floor houses a large salon and rooms dedicated to Edebiyat-ı Cedide and Abdülhak Hamid Tarhan. On the top floor, there is Tevfik Fikret’s bed room, work room, and another small room.