Museum opens for late tile master
The legacy of late Turkish tile master Sıtkı Olçar, who was selected as a living human treasure by UNESCO and died in 2010, aged 62, survives at a museum that has recently opened. Located in the village of Sofa at the 35th kilometer of Kütahya-EskiÅehir highway, the museum displays his tools used in fishing and his tiles.
The masterâs daughter Nida Olçar said the idea of a museum had always been in mind after her fatherâs death, but because of some problems, the museum was only opened temporarily.
âWe display my fatherâs personal belongings in this museum, mostly the ones he used when he went fishing. Unfortunately, we have not brought more precious things here. We will provide the safety of the museum for the next three months. Then we will continue displaying these items in our permanent museum after evaluating proposals from Kütahya and neighboring cities,â she said.
Oçar said they had previously made a contract with the Kütahya Municipality for the museum and she did not know the current situation of the building, which was planned to be opened as a museum. She said, âWe are hesitant about delivering the items because the museum will open when we deliver them, but we donât agree about the location of the museum building. Moreover, if the museum cannot reach a certain number of visitors, all the items will be seized and displayed at the Kütahya Tile Museum. You cannot force people to go to a museum. We have many artifacts and we are having difficulty in providing their safety. They are being kept in four storage holdings. After three months, we plan to give them a more
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