Municipal officials have contacted Akın to establish a museum similar to the İstanbul Toy Museum in the southern city, the Anatolia news agency reported Tuesday, citing a written statement from the Greater Antalya Municipality.Akın is reported to have asked the municipality that the museum be established in a building which has historical significance, as it will also have a mission to contribute to the international promotion of Antalya, already famous for its annual film festival in addition to its numerous, popular holiday resorts.
When the museum is complete, Antalya will be home to “a toy museum that is even better than the one in İstanbul,” Anatolia quoted Akın as telling the municipality.
The İstanbul Toy Museum, one of 150 museums of its kind around the world, is located in an old mansion owned by Akın’s family in İstanbul’s Göztepe quarter. The museum’s collection is made up of around 4,000 toys that range from model cars and planes to dolls, puzzles and lead toy soldiers, put together by Akın in a period that spanned over 20 years, from the four corners of the world. The collection also includes antique toys that represent various periods in history.
Akın also noted that Antalya’s sister city, Nuremberg, Germany, boasts one of the world’s leading toy museums. Akın added, “The İstanbul Kadıköy Toy Museum would be honored to share its experience and exhibited items with the Antalya toy museum.”
No details have been given about the museum’s location or the date of its inauguration.
