The Toy Museum which was built by the famous Turkish author Mr. Sunay Akın is the first of its kind in this beautiful region. With that aspect, it has impressed its fellows and led the way for more toy museums. After collecting all the toys from his childhood and his father’s childhood, Akın used the family heirloom mansion which is consists of 5 floors to build this magnificent museum with his own financing. The museum is welcoming every kind of visitors from 2005 which is the date of the beginning.
Inside the museum, you can find more than 4000 toys. Every room of the mansion is designed as a scene with a special concept. Even though the museum was built by Mr. Akın, a professional stage designer Ayhan Doğan helped him with arranging each room and their stages. Within this beautiful museum, you can find a violin manufactured in France during the 1800ish years. Moreover, you can find a USA made doll which was manufactured in 1820 and some beads from 1860. These are among the oldest objects in the museum. If you dig further, you can even find Teddy Bear, a communist Superman, Felix the Cat, Popeye, first baby doll depicting Mickey Mouse and some dark toys from the Nazi regime. The boys from the Nazi Regime was used as a propaganda item as you can guess. Nevertheless, from my view of point, the first floor of the museum is the best floor of the museum. In the first floor, there is that ”Eyüp Toy Shop” which shows the traditional Turkish toy-making. Eyüp was the first area that shows the examples of Turkish toy-making.
Even though it is classified as a toy museum, with items from even the 1700th years, it is more appealing to the adults more than the children. With its toys from nearly every culture and aspect, it will definitely take you to your childhood and leave you there for a while. Because of the appealing for both the adults and the children, it is a perfect place for the families with children to visit. Inside the museum, there is a cafe too. In this out of the fairy tales cafe, you can have a rest and enjoy the atmosphere. Moreover, you can make a reservation for a good group breakfast or a birthday of someone special. It is possible to join the workshops here too.
The Museum is located in the Kadıköy district and you should definitely pay a visit even you are not a child.
