Yılmaz Büyükerşen Balmumu Heykeller Müzesi

The Yılmaz Büyükerşen Wax Museum is a museum of wax figures on Atatürk Bulvarı in Odunpazarı, inside the complex of city museums known as Kent Müzeleri Kompleksi. The museum opened to visitors on 19 May 2013. The Eskişehir Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism presents it as the first Turkish example of the Madame Tussauds museums found in many countries around the world. Turkish Wikipedia also records it as the first wax museum in Turkey. What sets it apart from similar museums worldwide is that every figure in the collection came from a single sculptor's hands. The sculptor and the collection The figures were made by Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Büyükerşen, an economics professor who served for many years as rector of Anadolu University. According to the museum's own website, before the figures shown here he had already made wax statues of Atatürk for Anıtkabir, Samsun, İnebolu, İzmir, the war academies and the Naval Academy. He donated the figures in this museum to the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality, and the collection was founded on that donation. The number of figures varies between sources; the museum website speaks of about 200, Turkish Wikipedia counts 229, and English Wikipedia counts 198 figures in five halls. That the count has shifted over time is no surprise, since the museum announced from the start that the collection would keep growing. According to its website, famous people who visit Eskişehir will be measured and specially photographed, and their figures will gradually join the collection as well. What to look at in the halls The figures stand in front of varied backdrops, in corners staged like small theatre sets. GoTürkiye, the ministry's promotion platform, highlights how portraiture, staging and lighting come together in halls arranged by theme. At the heart of the collection are figures reflecting different periods of Atatürk's life, along with members of his family. According to the hall breakdown in English Wikipedia, the first hall also covers the War of Independence and some of the Ottoman sultans. Another hall is devoted to fields such as aviation, railways, the press, industry, science and sport. In this section names from aviation history such as Sabiha Gökçen and Cengiz Topel stand side by side with beloved faces of film and music. The figures listed by the same source also include Barış Manço, Kemal Sunal and Adile Naşit. In the hall of historical characters you can also see two folk figures closely tied to Eskişehir, Yunus Emre and Nasreddin Hoca. The last hall is given over to the sculptor's personal exhibition. According to the museum website, the displays also tell episodes from the history of Eskişehir and of Turkey. Why wax The museum website describes beeswax as an exceptionally suitable material for making lifelike figures. The first museum made up of wax figures was Madame Tussauds, which opened in London in 1835. The site explains that after its success similar museums opened in many parts of the world. The museum in Eskişehir opened its doors in 2013 as the first representative of this tradition in Turkey. The building and its surroundings The museum occupies a three-storey building whose yellow facade, dark window frames and wide eaves recall the traditional mansions of Odunpazarı. The museum's contact page describes the building as lying directly below the municipality's Museum of Contemporary Glass Arts. The list of the Kent Müzeleri Kompleksi also includes the City Memory Museum, the Contemporary Glass Arts Museum and the Liberation Museum. That makes the wax museum a good starting point for anyone who wants to see several museums in Odunpazarı on the same day. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism writes that the strong interest the museum attracts shows the value it has added to the face of the city. Visiting Admission is charged; check the current ticket price and opening hours on the museum's official website. On the page of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism the museum appears as closed on Mondays, so confirm this before you go. Visitors can have the museum's professional photography team take their picture together with the figures. According to English Wikipedia, photography is not allowed in one of the halls, so pay attention to the staff's instructions. According to the museum website, the revenue is used, as a condition of the donation, for the education of girls and of children with disabilities. Getting there The museum stands on the same boulevard as the Eskişehir ETİ Archaeology Museum, and a short walk takes you from one to the other. Odunpazarı Modern Museum and the historic Odunpazarı houses are also within walking distance. You can reach the museum by walking south and uphill from the city centre and the banks of the Porsuk, or by city public transport.