TURKISH AND ISLAMIC ART MUSEUM

The Palace of Ibrahim Pasa, the grandest private residence ever built in the Ottoman Empire was completed in 1524. Ibrahim was appointed grand Vezir and the following year he married Suleyman's sister, Hatice. Unlike many palaces of the period, it was constricted in stone. The palace was restored 1983. Considered to be one of the most important examples of Ottoman civil architecture, it is now a museum of Turkish and Islamic art, exhibiting a collection of 40.000 objects including fine oriental rugs, Seljuk and Ottoman woodcarvings, Turkish folk life clothing, rug and kilim looms, showing the weaving and dying techniques. The museum has a conference room and a Turkish coffee house serving coffee or tea.