Turkey’s first museum store recently opened at Topkapı Palace Museum but the number of new stores at historical and museum sites around the country is expected to increase to 55 by the end of 2010. ‘We saw that the resources on Topkapı Palace published in Turkey were insufficient,’ project leader Barış Üstünkaya says, explaining the idea of the stores.

Providing a more enriching experience for visitors, museum stores are becoming an increasingly common fixture at cultural venues across Turkey.

“When we first started, the concept of a museum store was not well known in Turkey. There was no organization that could be an example for us,” Bilkent Cultural Initiative Deputy Operating Manager Barış Üstünkaya recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

At the end of 2009, the Culture and Tourism Ministry accepted proposals for a network of museum shops at 55 historic sites and museums all around the country. The Bilkent Cultural Initiative won the tender and started working immediately.

The initiative recently opened its first store in the garden of Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace Museum on a site that covers 360 square meters and cost 1 million Turkish Liras to construct.

Since then, 34 museum stores have been opened in museums and historical sites in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions although 21 more locations are slated to open by the end of 2010.

The Bilkent Cultural Initiative currently offers a range of 6,500 products and hopes to eventually offer 10,000, Üstünkaya said.

Special permission for replicas

The Topkapı Museum Store displays replicas of many priceless pieces of art, including the Kaşıkçı (Spoonmaker’s) Diamond. The store also carries a wide variety of resource books.

“We saw that the resources on Topkapı Palace published in Turkey were insufficient,” said Üstünkaya, adding that they brought comprehensive resources from abroad and offered them for sale.

Tourists of varying nationalities have different preferences in terms of the museum goods they buy, said Üstünkaya, noting that Arab customers were mostly interested in gilded and ornamental replicas while Western tourists chose souvenirs from a wide range of products.

Special permission must be obtained from the ministry to make a replica of the pieces at Topkapı Palace. “A replica is a one-to-one copy of a work,” said Üstünkaya. “We need to confirm how many replicas of a product are produced because we produce almost the exact copy of an original piece.”

Each piece in the museum store has its own history, Üstünkaya said. “When customers buy a replica, they also learn its history. Ninety-five percent of tourists see Turkey once in their life and we should show the richness of our country in the best way.”

Ancient sites examined

The initiative, however, offers a different shopping experience for visitors to historical sites, said Üstünkaya.

“We want to do something different at the historical sites. This is why we closely follow all excavations,” said Üstünkaya, adding that an expert team including art historians, archaeologists, photographers and a design team regularly works on these sites.

A special project for children is offered at the St. Nicholas Church in Antalya, in collaboration with the Antalya Archaeology Museum. Children can buy a mosaic tile to apply to a 26-piece panel placed next to the museum as a form of donation, Üstünkaya said, adding that such endeavors inculcate a sense of history in younger generations.

Hope to be world’s largest museum store chain

“Our contract to operate the museum stores will end in 2016. We will bid once again when it ends,” said Üstünkaya, adding that they had many long-term plans.

“We have 14 cultural projects now and we are working on several more comprehensive ones. In addition to the 55 museum stores that will be completed by the end of the year, we will install showcases displaying Turkey’s historical richness in all airports from the east to the west of Turkey.”

Üstünkaya said would have the world’s largest museum store chain one they have opened all 55 locations. “We are determined to do our best. Selling products to the world’s most important museums is among our goals.”

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