The "Culture Path Project," implemented by the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality, will adorn the surroundings of the historic castle, which has been cleared of shanty houses, with museums.
Having already established three museums depicting Erzurum's culture and art, the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality has initiated efforts to establish a museum in honor of the Russian writer Pushkin, who visited the city in 1829. Mayor Mehmet Sekmen announced that the artifacts from the Trabzon Russian Consulate will be exhibited in the museum to be established.
Under the project launched by the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality in 2015, the surroundings of Erzurum Castle, built by the Urartians approximately 2,500 years ago, were cleared of dilapidated buildings through urban transformation. In the area where approximately 80,000 square meters of buildings were demolished, 17 historic houses were restored.
In the surroundings of the castle, where new mansions unique to Erzurum architecture were built, a "Culture and Art House" was established, consisting of the Erzurum City Archive and items donated by 40 philanthropists.
Continuing its efforts in the region, the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality expropriated and restored the Feyzullah Efendi Mansion, built in the 19th century by Topçu Kemal Ağa. After approximately four years of work, the historic mansion, which has been resurrected, was transformed into the "Erzurum Traditional Handicrafts Museum" to promote the city's lost professions.
With its swallowtail ceiling, tandir (clay oven), rooms and salon depicting urban culture, the historic mansion also opens the doors to Erzurum's craft world. Sections showcasing professions that have succumbed to technology, such as mattress-making, leatherworking, coppersmithing, hat-making, wool carding and fabric weaving, feature wax sculptures for dramatization.
Adorning the surroundings of Erzurum Castle with mansions suitable for the city's historical and cultural texture, the Metropolitan Municipality aims to establish a museum in honor of the Russian writer Pushkin, who visited the city in 1829. Mayor Mehmet Sekmen stated that works related to Pushkin's days in Erzurum will be displayed in the museum, which will obtain artifacts from the Russian Consulate in Trabzon.
Emphasizing the significance of the Erzurum Traditional Handicrafts Museum (ERGES), established below Erzurum Castle, Mayor Mehmet Sekmen stated that two-story mansions will be built in the area. Sekmen expressed their intention to establish the Pushkin Museum and mentioned that the artifacts related to the Russian writer are currently housed in the Russian Consulate in Trabzon.
He further stated that they will soon bring these artifacts to establish the museum, adding: "The kind of services like the Pushkin museum is what urban transformation is about, we aim to turn our city into an open-air museum of cultural tourism by both restoring historical buildings and opening up their surroundings. More of these initiatives will follow. We will build two-story stone buildings beneath the ERGES Museum and create a very different atmosphere in the city by selling them to the public."
