Atatürk's house, June 1922
Three days here, meeting his mother and sister, just before the final offensive of the War of Independence, and that story is the house's real value.
Satirdan kahraman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Satirdan kahraman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Satirdan kahraman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Satirdan kahraman — CC BY-SA 4.0
On 17 June 1922, a few weeks before the final offensive that decided the Turkish War of Independence, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk arrived in Adapazarı and spent three days in this three-storey mansion in the city centre, where his mother Zübeyde Hanım and his sister Makbule, who had come from Istanbul to see him, joined him. That is why locals call it Atatürk House rather than the museum, and it is why the place earns half an hour of your day on its story more than on its display cases. Major Baha Bey, head of the local military branch, built the house between 1910 and 1915; it later passed to Hasan Cavit Bey, a parliamentarian and close friend of Atatürk. The 1967 earthquake wrecked it badly, and after the Ministry bought it in 1983 the building was rebuilt in reinforced concrete behind its original appearance. It opened as a museum on 21 June 1993, closed again after the 1999 quake and reopened on 28 June 2003. Inside are two halls: archaeology from prehistory to Byzantium, with stone axes, glass scent bottles, small figurines and a run of coins from the Classical period to the Byzantines, and ethnography, mixing Ottoman embroidered textiles, copperware and firearms with personal belongings Atatürk used during his stay. The garden is crowded with Roman and Byzantine gravestones, altars and architectural fragments dug up around the province. Be honest with yourself: this is a small provincial museum, and an hour covers it generously. What makes it family-friendly is that entry is free and the grounds are quiet and shaded, but the stairs between floors are no place for a pushchair, so leave it in the garden. Children get more out of the garden and its stones than the vitrines. From Sapanca the nicest way in is the Ada Ekspresi regional train from Sapanca station: about a quarter of an hour to Mithatpaşa station on the southern edge of Adapazarı, then a short taxi or city-bus hop of a few kilometres into the centre; the main city station next to the museum closed in September 2026 while the line is put underground. By car it is about twenty kilometres on the D-100, call it twenty-five to thirty minutes, and central parking is paid and tight. Closed on Mondays; aim to arrive before 4:30 pm.
Three days here, meeting his mother and sister, just before the final offensive of the War of Independence, and that story is the house's real value.
Clothing and personal items he used during his stay, shown in the ethnography hall among Ottoman firearms and copperware.
Roman and Byzantine gravestones, altars and architectural fragments under the trees, the part children like best.
Semerciler Mah., Sait Faik Sk. No:36 (off Milli Egemenlik Caddesi), Adapazarı
Not on its own. Fold it into half a day in Adapazarı or a train outing with children; the museum is small and its worth lies in the Atatürk story more than in the collection.
The garden and ground floor are easy, but the upper floors are reached by a staircase with no lift, so pushchairs and anyone who struggles with stairs will stay downstairs.
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