This museum evokes nostalgia: collected 10,000 antique items over 40 years.

Cemalettin Temur, who works as a real estate agent in the Zara district of Sivas, showcases 10,000 antique items he has collected over 40 years in his office, which has almost turned into a museum.

Cemalettin Temur, who has been engaged in real estate in the Zara district of Sivas, has taken on the mission of preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of his district, guided by his grandfather since his youth. Temur has never lost his interest in the culture and lifestyle of his district, transforming this interest into a meaningful collection over the years. Having served in the real estate sector for 15 years, Cemalettin Temur has started to exhibit the antique items he has collected throughout his life by turning one room of his office into a museum. The museum is visited for free by nearly a thousand citizens annually, where they also have the opportunity to listen to music from gramophone records.

“I have more than 10,000 products”

Stating that he has collected the products in the museum over 40 years, Temur said, “I collected the products in this museum over 40 years. Since my childhood, I had a desire to collect. Later, I started to collect products related to the past. In the 1990s, I used to go to villages and deal in antiques. I would open exhibitions in the village square. I collected products from people, giving them new items in return. These products cannot be thrown away, nor can they be sold. In 2000, I arranged a shop under my house and opened a museum dedicated to myself. I also started to buy new products from every place I visited, researched, or saw. I revitalized my museum in this way. We listened to records from our pride, Halil Söyler from Zara, on his stone records. I collected his stone records, and then I collected those of Celal from Diyarbakır. I have opened an exhibition of over a thousand stone records. There are many collectors in Turkey, but I have collected from all of them. Some others collect stone records, lighters, or watches in the field. I have more than 10,000 products in my museum. I have over fifty gramophones. I have a collection of lighters, watches, radios, tin boxes, matches, figurines, ornaments, keys, and coins. I have collected over a ton of copper from Zara. I also developed a fondness for documents and started collecting documents. I have old title deeds, old contracts, and correspondence from village heads dating back to the late 1800s from the Republican era. I have also started collecting letters. I have more than 10,000 documents in my possession,” he said.

“I want to create an open-air museum”

Temur stated that his goal is to buy a large mansion and create an open-air museum, saying, “When I started showing people, I realized that they had an interest in these products related to the past. I was happy about this. In this way, we guide our guests around the museum. We provide information about the products. We play stone records, creating a social atmosphere. All the products here have their own stories, memories, and experiences. They are products used in the old days. We explain these to people. The youth will take care of these values. I have also collected the museum as a memory for the new generation. However, my goal is that all the products I have collected are not here yet. God willing, in the future, I want to buy and renovate one of the old mansions of our large Zara to display these products there. I have a project for this as well. I have a horse cart and an ox cart from the past. Additionally, I have collected stones. I also have 2-3 truckloads of stones. There are millstones and beautiful stones related to the past. I want to establish an amphitheater with them and create an open-air museum. There will always be a door here for our visitors who come to our Zara. Whenever I host them, I will also show them my museum. Our family is here; we have memories here. We cannot go outside of Zara. I have no other house or investment outside of Zara.”