Turkish and Islamic Arts and Ethnography Museum

The Turkish and Islamic Arts and Ethnography Museum in Erzurum occupies the Yakutiye Madrasa, and the building is as much the attraction as the objects inside. According to the inscription on its crown gate, it was built in 1310 by Cemaleddin Hoca Yakut Gazani, in the name of Gazan Khan and Bolugan Hatun, during the reign of the Ilkhanid ruler Sultan Olcaytu. It belongs to the group of madrasas with four iwans and a closed courtyard, and it reflects the traditional architectural style of the Seljuk period. It has served as a museum since 1994.

The façade was designed with balance in mind: a projecting crown portal, minarets at both corners and domed tombs set opposite each other. Today one of the corner minarets stands only up to its balcony and the other only to its base, both capped with a conical roof, but the plant and geometric motifs and symbolic figures on the front still show the care taken over symmetry. Tile decoration on the gate and minaret is of exceptional value.

Inside, the ethnographic displays set women's jewellery and clothing beside men's jewellery and accessories, belts, copperware, weapons, seals and coins. They carry the cultural and artistic traces of the region from the past to the present and sit in harmony with the monumental building around them.