Architect Vedat Tek Culture and Art Center

It was opened on 31 October 2008 as a comprehensive venue that sheds light on the past from another perspective. It houses the Republic House, the Hat and Lace Museum, which is a first in Turkey, the Atatürk Exhibition Hall, the Doll House, and the Picture Gallery. It was named Architect Vedat Tek Culture and Art Center in order to keep the name of Vedat Tek, who is also the architect of the Kastamonu Governorship building, alive and to pass it on to future generations.

Who is Architect Vedat Tek?

Vedat Tek, the children of Sirri Pasha from Crete, one of the Ottoman viziers and governors of Baghdad, and the poet and composer Leylâ Hanım, was born in Istanbul in 1873. Vedat Tek's upbringing in an elite family and the art-loving environment created around his family have been one of the important factors in his development. His mother, Leyla Saz (1850/52–1936), was the daughter of İsmail Pasha, one of the palace physicians of the Abdülmecit period. She entered the palace as Münire Sultan's bridesmaid and was trained together with the sultans. He learned French and Greek during his father's Crete Governorship, took Divan poetry and prosody lessons, and continued the piano he learned in Istanbul. Leyla, who started poetry at the age of 16, gathered the leading writers and musicians of the period at her home and helped and protected those in need. In 1928, he also published a book of poems called "Faded Flowers".

His father, Sırrı Pasha (1843/44–1895), was the governor of Baghdad and a vizier for a period, and was also known as a clergyman and a man of letters. There is also a book called "Mektubat-ı Sırrı Pasha", which includes the correspondence and reports of Sırrı Pasha, who translated and interpreted the Qur'an.

Yusuf Razi Bey, one of Vedat Tek's three brothers, studied civil engineering in Paris, served as Istanbul City Hall, "Postal Telegraph Minister" and "Minister of Public Works", and became one of the famous names of his time. His sister Nezihe Beler, who is a pianist, has composed western music. His third brother is an electrical engineer.

Vedat Tek, who married Firdevs (Dino) Hanım, the daughter of Musa Kazım Bey in 1900, has four children from this marriage; Nihat Vedat Tek, Selime Yekta Işıtan, Saadet Ejder and Belkis were born. His son, Nihat Vedat Tek, started working in partnership with his father after his architectural education in Germany. The grave of Vedat Tek, who died in 1942, is in Edirnekapı Martyrs' Cemetery.