Diyarbakır Ziya Gökalp Museum

Ziya Gökalp Museum

The Ziya Gökalp House is located on Melik Ahmet Street, Gökalp Sokak. Built in the 19th century, it is one of the finest examples of traditional Diyarbakır civil architecture. Unlike many other Diyarbakır houses, this residence consists of three wings arranged around a central courtyard, each built with a ground floor and a single upper floor.
A distinctive feature of the house is its courtyard pool, which, instead of being placed at the center of the courtyard as seen in typical Diyarbakır homes, is positioned within the eyvan, reflecting a unique architectural approach. The structure is divided into two sections: Harem (family quarters) and Selamlık (guest/men’s quarters).

In 1824, the house passed into the hands of Ziya Gökalp’s family, and the prominent sociologist and writer Ziya Gökalp was born here in 1876. On March 23, 1956, the harem section of the house was expropriated by the Provincial Administration and the selamlık by the Municipality. The harem was later restored and opened to visitors by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as the Ziya Gökalp Museum.

The museum is housed in a two-story residence built in 1806 from basalt stone. Gökalp’s family moved into the house in 1824, and it was converted into a museum in 1956.
The museum preserves personal belongings, documents, and memorabilia associated with Ziya Gökalp.
Like many traditional Diyarbakır houses, the structure reflects an inward-oriented architectural plan, with all living spaces arranged around an inner courtyard. The house also features a fine example of the eyvan with a pool, characteristic of Diyarbakır architecture.

Architectural Features

The building consists of four facades surrounding a central courtyard. A round-arched doorway leads into a courtyard paved with cut basalt stone.

South Wing

The ground floor of the south wing contains a two-bay eyvan with pointed arches. The eyvan features a deep niche with a scalloped arch and a rectangular pool at its center.
To the left, steps lead to a room with round-arched and rectangular windows, deep interior niches, and polychrome stonework used both inside the room and in the eyvan.
At the southeast, steps descend into a wood-storage area.

North Wing

On the ground floor, a kitchen with a hearth niche and a pantry lie to the left.
To the right is a room with deep wall niches and a wooden-beamed ceiling.
Access to the upper floor is provided by stairs ascending from a round-arched doorway.
The upper floor features round-arched windows with iron grilles on the lower halves.
The room on the left has an overhanging bay window (cumba) overlooking the street.

West Wing

This wing contains three small rooms and a deep, pointed-arched niche.

East Wing

Access to the basement level is provided via steps descending from the eyvan.
The windows are rectangular and covered with wooden shutters.
On the left side, a round-arched eyvan provides entry to the basement.
The ground floor is reached by ascending cut basalt stone steps.
An inscription stands above the doorway of this section.
Just inside the entrance, a room with scalloped-arched window openings lies to the right, while an eyvan reached by steps lies to the left. The façade of this eyvan features recessed niches.

The door and window arches throughout the house are decorated using the cas carving technique, with intricate plant and geometric motifs.