GURAY MUSEUM
Located in Cappadocia, one of the most out standing cultural, historical, and natural world heritage sites, Avanos has earn edits reputation as a center of pottery since the time of the Hittites. A rich history dating back to centuries ago and the traditional craft of pottery that has passed down through generation sare the unique characteristics of this old town. All in all, visitors from all parts of the world had been pointing out the lack of a museum that would display the historical development of this traditional craft. Taking this into account, we have decided to establish a museum, as part of one of our social and cultural responsibilities, to fulfill this necessity and bestow a valuable gift upon next generations. Incorporating also the contemporary and traditional art work of world-renown Turkish sculptors into our existing collection, we have been able to present the historical development of the art of ceramics.
In line with these purposes, the Güray Museum was founded in the district of Avanos on the basis of contemporary museology concepts. The museum consists of a variety of exhibition halls, recreational facilities, and other service units carved out of rocks 20m under the ground surface and spreads out over an area of 1600m². It’s the world’s first and only under ground museum of ceramics in respect to its architectural structure and concept.
The museum has a rich collection of terracotta art works, as well as, small findings, and consists of three major sections.
The first section is the hall where the Antique collection is displayed. The layout of this exhibition is chronological and includes a collection of ceramic art work and pottery belonging to the late Chalcolithic period, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman Periods. The collection was gathered based on scientific research and represents fragments of the phases of the development of ceramics in Anatolia from antique times to the present day. Furthermore, local ceramic art work from different geographical regions of Anatolia gives a holistic insight into the development of ceramics in Anatolia.
The second section is the exhibition hall of Contemporary Collections. In this hall, world-renowned contemporary and traditional ceramic artists trained in our country and their art Works are introduced.
The third section is an art gallery where artists can present their art work in all fields of Fine Arts such as drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics and photography. This section consists of an exhibition hall, a library, a cafeteria and a lounge with a fireplace.
Open year round, the museum provides the visitors with a wonderful museum experience during daytime and serves as an excellent venue with its mystical atmosphere for private organizations such as seminars, symposiums, coctails, sema performances and concerts during nighttime. The building can accommodate up to 400 people for these activities. Under the large dome in the center of the hall of antique collection is a platform, which serves as a stage for these organizations. The platform can be raised 1m high and spins around when needed. Additionally, the kitchen of the museum can be used for conserving, cooking and serving purposes.
