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The Pera Museum (Pera
Müzesi) in
the Tepebasi district
of Beyoglu in
Istanbul,
is a wonderful art museum with
permanent collections and changing
exhibits.
The façade is that of the old Hotel
Bristol, just
up the street from the far more famous Pera
Palace Hotel (Pera
Palas Oteli) overlooking the
Golden
Horn. Behind the Victorian-era
façade
(1893) all is modern, however: five
floors of beautiful, well-lit art galleries.
The museum is open (YTL7,
YTL3
for students and 60+, free for kids
12 and under) from 10 am to 7 pm (Sunday
12 noon to 6 pm), closed
Monday.
The ground floor holds the museum
shop and café.
To see everything,
take the elevator/lift to
the top (5th) floor and walk down.
I saw a fine temporary exhibit of
Henri Cartier-Bresson photographs on
the
5th and 4th floors.
The third floor is
devoted to exhibitions of 17th-
to 19th-century Orientalist paintings
from the superb collections of
the Kiraç family (founders of
the Pera Museum), and the Gönül family.
The collections include more
than 300 works by European, Ottoman
and Turkish masters, including Osman
Hamdi Bey. Pride of place goes to
the famous "Tortoise Trainer" (Kaplumbaga
Terbiyecisi).
The
first floor holds two permanent
collections,
of Kütahya faience (colored tiles
and pottery), and Anatolian
weights and measures (scales, balances, etc.
in brass, copper, iron, steel and other
materials.)
While you're in the area, have a look
at the Pera
Palace Hotel just down
the street (Mesrutiyet Caddesi). To
see what the old Hotel Bristol looked
like, walk in the opposite direction
to the Grand Hotel de Londres (Büyük
Londra Oteli), still operated as a
hotel.
Pera
Müzesi
Mesrutiyet Caddesi No. 141
34443 Tepebasi
Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey
Tel +90 212 334 9900
Pera
Palace Hotel
Tepebasi
Galatasaray Square
Beyoglu
Istanbul
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