Ethnography Museum (Etnografya Müzesi)

The Ethnography Museum of Ankara occupies a building of immense historical significance, originally constructed in 1928 to serve as the temporary resting place of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk until the completion of Anıtkabir. This neoclassical building, designed by architect Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu, housed Atatürk's remains from 1938 to 1953, making it a pilgrimage site for the Turkish people during those formative years of the republic. After Atatürk's transfer to Anıtkabir, the building was converted into an ethnography museum in 1956, dedicated to preserving and showcasing Turkey's rich cultural heritage. 

The museum's collection encompasses various aspects of Turkish folk culture, including traditional costumes, handicrafts, carpets, kilims, woodwork, metalwork, and ceramics from different regions of Anatolia. The exhibits are organized to represent the diversity of Turkish cultural traditions, from nomadic lifestyles to settled agricultural communities, from Ottoman court culture to rural folk traditions. The museum also houses important collections of Islamic calligraphy, manuscripts, and religious artifacts. The building itself serves as an architectural monument, representing the early Republican period's aesthetic preferences and the desire to create a modern Turkish identity while honoring historical continuity.