Pera Museum

A Must for Art And Culture Lovers – The Pera Museum

Art and culture go hand in hand, and for those who can’t get enough of historical and modern art, the Pera Museum is a must visit.

Mixing together history and modern day artistic pieces, the Pera Museum is a private museum housed in what was a stately home dating back to the 19th century. The architecture of the building itself is rather grand, having formerly been the Hotel Bristol. This sets the scene perfectly for an upmarket, cultural feel, and is the perfect attraction for a cultural day out in the heart of Istanbul.

What is Inside The Pera Museum?

The Pera Museum houses several pieces of important artwork including ‘The Tortoise Trainer’, by Osman Hamdi Bey. This is an important and iconic piece of artwork by a Turkish painter, and is renowned as being one of the most expensive when sold on; this one went for a cool $3.5 milling when it was sold in 2004. That’s a lot of cash!

The painting is iconic in that it depicts a huge part of Turkish culture. The painting shows a Sufi dervish and the patience shown during a time of frustration. It is also known to show the renowned difficulty experience when life brings about change of any kind. Something we can all relate to, no matter how many years ago it was created.

There are exhibitions inside the Pera Museum which are permanent, namely the Orientalist Paintings, the Anatolian Weight and Measures, and the Kutahya Tiles and Ceramics Exhibitions

The Orientalist Paintings shows works of art by artists across Europe, who’s main inspiration was the Ottoman Era and its overall culture. This links not only into Istanbul’s history, but Turkish history overall. The Anatolian Weight and Measures exhibition shows pieces which were used to measure various items and weights, mainly found in Central Anatolia. There are thousands of artefacts and pieces in this particular exhibition, and despite the strange description, it is extremely interesting and very popular.

Finally, the Kutahya Tiles and Ceramics Exhibition shows you pieces of art from Kutahya. This is a city which is removed for tiling and ceramic artists, and some of the pieces are truly mind-blowing when you see them in person.

Aside from the permanent exhibitions, you’ll also see temporary exhibitions which take place from time to time. These will be detailed as you walk in to the Pera Museum, and they are usually sited on the top floors of the building. Over the years, there have been exhibitions on Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro, to name just a few.

Visiting The Pera Museum

The Pera Museum is open every day apart from Mondays, from 10am until 7pm, and 12pm until 6pm on Sundays only. The admission fee is 20TL, which is very low for the amount of world class artistic pieces you’ll be seeing. If you visit on a Friday between 6pm and 10pm however, you will be able to enter for free, as part of the ‘Long Fridays’ offer. This is a great way to save yourself some cash, if you’re on a budget!

The Pera Museum also has a great cafe on site, which has fantastic coffee. On certain days you can also catch artistic films and film festival showings as part of an initiative called ‘Pera Film’. Check their website to find out specific dates for these events and more.

It’s also easy to get to the Pera Museum. If you’re in Taksim, you simply need to walk to the bottom of famous Istiklal Avenue and follow the signs for Pera Palace Istanbul Hotel.  Follow the road you’re on and you’ll soon be able to see the signage outside for the Pera Museum. If you’re stuck, simply ask someone working in one of the shops on Istiklal Avenue and they will be able to point you in the right direction. The Pera Museum isn’t far and it’s super easy to reach, however there are some back streets to manoeuvre and that can be difficult the first time!

Of course, after your cultural visit, you can continue your day in Taksim, or you can go for a walk over towards Eminonu or Sultanahmet. Istiklal Street in Taksim is packed with things to see and do. You don’t have to shop ’til you drop if you don’t want to, as the Beyoglu district, which Taksim is part of, is packed with small museums and galleries, many of which are true hidden gems.