Bornova: Arkas Sanat @ Mattheys Köşkü

Our final museum today was Arkas Sanat [Arkas Art], a museum founded by the same Levantine family I mentioned in the previous footprint.

The museum, housed in the Mattheys Mansion — a historic Levantine home dating back to 1780 — was definitely the jewel in the crown of today’s museums … even before we entered the mansion to enjoy the exhibit of carpets inside. Our joy in this visit was compounded by the beautifully restored mansion and the manicured grounds … which, Aylin assured me, are even more eye-catching in the spring when all the flowers are in bloom.

The mansion has a rich history of hosting many important figures. One anecdote related by the former owners of the mansion is that it was used by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Türkiye, as a meeting place for strategizing the next steps in the country’s War of Independence.

Entering through the gate onto the property, we were immediately wowed by the scene that greeted our eyes … a gravel path lined with trees … the “prestige entrance” of the pale pink mansion beckoning us to walk that way immediately.

But no, we were first directed to a small building off to the side, where we purchased our admission (under $2pp at today’s exchange rate … half that for seniors 65+). Then, we walked through a short covered gallery where a timeline printed on the wall explained the history of the mansion. A few minutes to study the timeline, and then we stepped out to view the grand gardenscape in which scale models of some of the historic Levantine mansions of Bornova are displayed.

But exploring the gardens and the models took a backseat for a moment. By this time, we were all hungry and couldn’t resist the siren call of the delicious pastries at Léone … a patisserie and boulangerie.

Once our tummies were sated, we wandered the grounds before entering the mansion to view the amazing collection of carpets inside. But that part of our visit will just have to wait until the next footprint.Read more