Guide
The museum is inside the Selimiye complex, in the Darul Kurra medrese at the south-west corner of the mosque, so it can be seen in the same visit. Selim II had the medrese built along with the mosque by Sinan; it was finished between 1569 and 1575 and served the Ottoman state as an institution of higher education until comparatively recent times. After restoration it opened as a museum in 2007.
Most of what is shown comes from waqf buildings in Edirne, Kırklareli and the surrounding area — movable property known as teberrukat, given to endowed buildings and kept in them. After conservation the pieces were placed in the rooms once used by the medrese's teachers and students, and they are grouped by material: metalwork, calligraphy, woodwork, tiles, and clocks.
Two parts of the building are used differently. In the lecture hall, medrese teaching is reconstructed with mannequins dressed for the period. Around the open court, the arcade carries large panels about Sinan, and the same arcade is fitted out to take temporary exhibitions and other events.
