This museum is housed in the former 16^th century palace of Suleiman the Magnificent’s Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha. The museum holds approximately 40,000 pieces spanning from the 7^th to 19^th century. The items are displayed in sections including texts and manuscripts; carpets and rugs; mining; glass and ceramics; wood work; ethnography; coins and stamps and stone work. Most of the collection comes from pieces collected from across the Ottoman Empire during the 20^th century.

Among the highlights of the museum is a magnificent collection of 1,700 carpets. There are also Holbein paintings, antique tiles and pieces of 13th century Selcuk rugs. Other outstanding pieces include illustrated Qurans from all the ruling Islamic states from the 7^th century to the 20^th century. Among the glassware collection are pieces discovered during excavations of Abbasid centers like Samarra and Raqqa in Syria. There is also an illustration of how Turkish architecture changed from tents to 19^th century palaces. Through the displays you can learn about Turkey’s ethnic groups and see examples of their art and everyday items through history. The museum closed for renovations in 2012 and reopened in January 2015.