Sait Faik Abasıyanık Museum

The Sait Faik Abasıyanık Museum is a museum that displays the life, works, and personal belongings of Sait Faik Abasıyanık (1906–1954), one of the most prominent writers of Turkish literature. This special space located on Burgazada, an island in the Adalar district, carries the traces of Sait Faik’s life and literary legacy.

Sait Faik Abasıyanık Museum - Darüşşafaka Society

History

The Sait Faik Abasıyanık Museum was opened to the public on 22 June 1959, five years after the writer’s death. In her will, the writer’s mother, Makbule Abasıyanık, bequeathed most of her assets, including the copyright to Sait Faik’s literary works, and the villa on Burgazada designated as the Sait Faik Abasıyanık Museum, to the Darüşşafaka Society. In 1964, upon the transfer of Makbule Abasıyanık’s bequest to the Darüşşafaka Society, the society assumed all responsibilities for the museum’s maintenance, repair, management, and other duties. The museum was closed to visitors in 2009 for reinforcement, restoration, and renovation works, and reopened on 11 November 2013 after its renewal.

The museum serves as an important destination for literature enthusiasts, researchers, and admirers of Sait Faik. Numerous events and exhibitions are organized to preserve his literary heritage, which made a significant contribution to Turkish short story writing. In 2014, the Sait Faik Workshop was established within the museum, facilitating various research and studies related to the writer’s life and works. The museum provides its services free of charge, in accordance with Sait Faik’s will.

Sait Faik Abasıyanık Museum - Anadolu Ajansı

Sections of the Museum

The Sait Faik Abasıyanık Museum consists of a basement, a ground floor, and two upper floors. The basement houses a reading room and an educational exhibition hall organized by the society. The ground floor contains the museum’s administrative office, the guest room, and the dining room that belonged to the writer.

On the first floor are Sait Faik Abasıyanık’s bedroom and library, along with two rooms that display his personal belongings and convey details of his life and literary personality. The top floor contains the visitors’ and notable figures’ commentary room, where thoughts and impressions have been recorded, as well as a room dedicated to Sait Faik Abasıyanık’s work titled “Burgaz”.