Turkish Mid-Western province of Uşak in Aegean region becomes a cultural hub when a new museum complex will be housing the world famous Karun treasure.

UŞAK, Turkey / NationalTurk – The new museum with renowned Karun treasures complex will be established in Uşak’s historical train station on an area of 2,500 square-meter.

Construction has begun on a modern museum that will house the famous Karun treasure, the symbol of the Turkish Aegean province of Uşak, as part of a new museum complex in the Historical Uşak Train Station.

Talks on opening  an museum complex in the Historical Uşak Train Station lasted 4 years. The foundation of the Uşak Archaeology Museum will be laid by Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay, and the project will be finished by the end of 2013.

Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Şerif Arıtürk said the excavation work had been finished on an area of 2,500 square meters and the foundation of the museum would be laid. “Minister Ertugrul Günay will come to Uşak  in the coming days and lay the museum’s foundation. New projects for the display rooms of the museum will be prepared by the technical staff of the Culture and Tourism ministry. When the museum is completely done, the artifacts will be moved there, and it will open in the beginning of 2014.”

Cities with museums have an identity

Arıtürk noted cities with museums had an identity. “Artifacts in museums reveal the history and social structure of cities. This is why Uşak needs to have a unique and special museum. The city has been home to various civilizations since 4000 B.C. Artwork from these civilizations will be displayed in this modern museum. We have received support from the Foundation for the Promotion and the Protection of the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ÇEKÜL) for the museum construction project. As a result, we will preserve original materials from the Uşak Train Station and establish a modern museum,” he said.

Another project with Karun Treasures

Arıtürk said Uşak was one a few Turkish cities where steam trains and their parts were stored. “Even film teams come to the city and shoot their films in the train station. When we open a transportation museum in the city, this region will become an attraction center. As part of the speed train project, which is planned for 2015, we will also open a transportation museum in the train station. When the museum complex is finished, Uşak will become a center where people spend their weekends.”

He said the allocation of the land of the Historical Uşak Train Station to the ministry for the establishment of the museum complex had taken a long time. “The land is owned by Turkish State Railways. The tender for the Uşak Archaeology Museum was made in July and the land was transferred to the construction company,” Arıtürk said.

The museum will cost 10 million Turkish Liras, according to Arıtürk. “With three floors and a ground floor, the museum will total 8,200 square meters on a 2,500-square-meter plot of land. The total size of the land is 84,000 square meters and three more museums will be constructed there in the next years.”

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