The mechanical kemençe player
A wax-and-silicone figure that moves its eyes, fingers and head to the music as it sings; the strangest thing in Uzungöl.
An animatronic kemençe player that moves its eyes, fingers and head to the tune while it sings, an open-topped wooden bus, and a menagerie of animals carved from tree roots dragged out of the valley's forests: this is what a local hotelier named Dursun Ali İnan accumulated over some thirty years before opening a private museum for it on the shore of Uzungöl in September 2019, a few steps from his own İnan Kardeşler hotel. It is nothing like a state museum; think of one enthusiast's house thrown open to visitors. The site covers about 3,750 square metres in three parts: a timber house built the way Uzungöl houses used to be, furnished as it would have been; İnan's hoard of local antiquities and curios, samples of coloured stones gathered from around Turkey, old radios, telephones and cameras; and the root sculptures and root furniture, which are the oddest and most photographed things here. Panels explain the valley's history, geography, plants and wildlife, but most captions are in Turkish only, so do not count on reading much. Plainly: it does not justify a trip on its own, but it earns an hour when the rain comes in, which it does often at Uzungöl even in August, or when winter snow closes the roads and the choice narrows to the hotel room or a café. Thirty to forty-five minutes is enough. Children get more out of the root animals and the mechanical musician than adults do, and the site is compact, with short distances, so it is not tiring for an older relative. Open daily 09:00-18:00 by the sources we could find; entry is a fee in lira paid at the door, and we could not confirm the current amount, so ask at the hotel next door. It is about a kilometre from the village centre, a quarter of an hour on foot along the lake road, and needs no booking.
A wax-and-silicone figure that moves its eyes, fingers and head to the music as it sings; the strangest thing in Uzungöl.
Animal figures and faces coaxed out of tree roots İnan hauled from the forest; folk art rather than fine art, but the children love it.
A traditional Uzungöl house furnished as it was, showing valley life before the hotels arrived.
Fatih Cd., Uzungöl, Çaykara
No; give the day to the lake and the nearby plateaus. Keep the museum for a rainy hour or an empty evening, since it is a quarter-hour's walk from the hotels and needs no planning.
Yes, more than most museums: the carved animals, the mechanical musician and the wooden bus hold their attention, and the site is small enough that they do not get bored. We could not confirm pushchair access, so ask at the door.
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