Guide
Atatürk came to Alanya on 18 February 1935 and stayed for a time in this house. It was built as a home by a timber merchant, M. Tevfik Azakoglu, in the Sekerhane quarter; after his death Rıfat Azakoglu gave it to the Ministry of Culture, and it was restored and opened as the Alanya Atatürk House in 1987.
The house is a three-storey konak of the traditional Alanya type, timber and masonry, built to the karniyarik plan in which the rooms open off a central hall or sofa. Its building date is not known for certain, though the master builder is said to have been Beyri Usta. You enter from the garden on the south side through a double iron gate, which brings you up to the first floor; the ground floor, once earth-floored, was the stable and store. The first and second floors have five rooms and a box room. The house was built for the Alanya climate and for comfortable living in it, and its front looks out at the castle.
On the entrance floor are Atatürk's personal effects — a waistcoat he wore, a crested shirt, shoes — with photographs and a telegram he sent to the people of Alanya. The rooms on the other floors are arranged as a traditional Alanya house, with displays built around weddings in Alanya, the local cooking and children's games; cases on the second floor hold embroidery, clothing, jewellery and weapons from Alanya and its region. There is a film room on the lower floor showing documentaries on Atatürk.
Admission is free. The ministry does not publish opening hours because they change with the season, and asks visitors to phone for them.
Visit status for this record: open to visitors.
