Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum

The Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum is the first museum in Turkey that includes Turkish - Islamic artworks together in its collection. The museum was opened in 1914 in Suleymaniye Mosque Social Complex in Sultanahmet district, and in 1983 it moved to its new home, Ibrahim Pasha Palace, west of Blue Mosque Square in Sultanahmet Square. The museum has artifacts from the Islamic world and rare artifacts from the Umayyad, Abbasid, Artuqid, Ayyubid, Ilkhanate, Safavid, Mamluk, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. While the collection has glassware, stone, terracotta, and ceramic objects, its rug and carpet collection has a reputation around the world. The museum's rug collection consists of rare 13th-century Seljuk carpets and rugs that can not be found elsewhere today. Visitors can also see rare Artukid artifacts, the door of Cizre Ulu Mosque, and Damascus Documents from the early Islamic period. The museum was awarded the European Museum of the Year Award in 1984 and 1985.