Sabanci City Museum

Sabancı Foundation restored a historic building (formerly an army barrack in 1889) in the ancient city of Mardin (southeastern Turkey) and created the “Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum” and the “Dilek Sabancı Art Gallery” which opened its doors with a colorful event hosting over 800 people on October 1st, 2009.The Sakip Sabanci Mardin City Museum will display the history, tourism, architecture and visual values of Mardin, one of the few protected cities of the world.
The narrow and long space, which is utilized for the City Museum as a walkway, includes "exhibition" units. The main principle of the design is to create an exhibition arrangement where the spatial unity under the cross arches can be perceived. In addition to the exhibition units, where the different dimensions of the authentic characteristics of the town can be viewed, the existing niches in the structure are also used as units where the "handicraft" products are displayed.