The sultans and Atatürk hall
Mehmed the Conqueror, Selim I and Süleyman the Magnificent in theatrical sets, plus Atatürk at every age; this is where the photographs happen.
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Some 229 wax figures by the municipality's count, every one of them sculpted by the same man, and that man was the mayor. Yılmaz Büyükerşen ran Eskişehir's metropolitan municipality for a quarter of a century (1999-2024) and spent years of it modelling these figures himself, before donating the lot to the city on one condition: that the museum's takings fund the education of girls and disabled children. He is also the sculptor behind the wax Atatürk displayed at Anıtkabir in Ankara. The museum opened on 19 May 2013 as Turkey's first wax museum, and the municipality says more than three million people had been through by early 2024, which makes it the city's headline museum by a wide margin. It sits beneath the Contemporary Glass Arts Museum on Atatürk Bulvarı, at the foot of the old Odunpazarı quarter, and runs through five halls. The first belongs to Atatürk at various ages, the Ottoman sultans and the Republic's presidents, with sultans such as Mehmed the Conqueror, Selim I and Süleyman the Magnificent posed in theatrical sets; this is where most of your photographs will be taken. Then comes a large hall of aviation, railway and industry pioneers, sportsmen and Turkish film and music stars of the Cüneyt Arkın, Kemal Sunal, Barış Manço and Orhan Gencebay sort, a hall of historical figures such as Yunus Emre, a hall on democracy and politicians, and finally a small room on the founder's own career, memories and awards. Be clear about what it is not: this is no Madame Tussauds. Likenesses vary wildly, some figures are startlingly convincing and others resemble their subject only by the label beneath, and most of the cast are Turkish names an Arab visitor will recognise only if they follow Turkish television. That is also precisely its charm: a city museum made by its mayor rather than a global franchise. The whole circuit takes an hour at most, children enjoy posing with the sultans rather more than their parents do, and an in-house photo team will shoot you with the figures for a fee. Tickets are 140 TL for adults and 90 TL for students, the dearest of the municipal museums (most of the others charge 80 TL), and the desk takes bank cards only, so leave the cash in your pocket. The box office runs 10:00 to 17:00, closed Mondays. Do it as one trio with the glass museum upstairs and the Liberation Museum a few minutes away, then climb into the painted houses of Odunpazarı. Avoid weekend afternoons and Turkish school holidays, when the ticket queue lengthens and the narrow halls fill up.
Mehmed the Conqueror, Selim I and Süleyman the Magnificent in theatrical sets, plus Atatürk at every age; this is where the photographs happen.
Every figure is the work of Yılmaz Büyükerşen, Eskişehir's mayor for 25 years, and the takings fund schooling for girls and disabled children.
The glass museum is directly upstairs and the Liberation Museum minutes away, then a short climb into the painted houses of Odunpazarı.
Atatürk Bulvarı No:43, Akarbaşı Mah., Odunpazarı
Contemporary Glass Art MuseumA hundred and twenty-five pieces of blown and cold-worked glass fill three rooms1 minute walk4.4
Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM)Odunpazarı means 'wood market', and when the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma was a1 minute walk4.1
Eskişehir Meerschaum MuseumA soft white stone that comes out of the ground in high-grade blocks almost nowh4 minutes walk4.3
Odunpazarı Historic DistrictBefore Eskişehir became a city of students, trams and riverside cafés, all of it4 minutes walk4.6
Kurşunlu Mosque and ComplexEskişehir is a city of universities, trams and cafés, and it has strikingly litt5 minutes walk4.8Not in the same way. It is far smaller, the likenesses are uneven, and most of the cast are Turkish names you will only know if you watch Turkish television. Go for the Ottoman sultans hall, for the children, and because it is on your way up to Odunpazarı, not as a destination in itself. If your time in Eskişehir is short, the glass museum upstairs is a better use of the hour.
Yes, and it is one of the city's easier wins with them: indoor halls, under an hour, and photos with sultans and film stars they enjoy. Your own phone photos are fine, and there is an in-house photo team if you want a printed one. Skip weekend afternoons, when the narrow halls and the ticket queue both fill up.