Latife Hanım Memorial House

Latife Hanım Memorial House is a museum located on Bahriye Üçok Boulevard in the Karşıyaka District of İzmir Province, Turkey.

Uşakizade Mansion, the summer house of Latife Hanım's family where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's mother Zübeyde Hanım spent her last days, was opened to visitors as a "Memorial House" in 2008 and was registered as a museum in 2016.

History

The Uşakizade Mansion, thought to have been built in the 1860s, was a house used as a summer residence by the family of Latife Hanım, the wife of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk's mother Zübeyde Hanım came to İzmir on 18 December 1922 because of illness and died in this mansion where she spent her last days.

In later years the mansion was used as a courthouse and a school. It was expropriated by the Karşıyaka Municipality in 2005 and restoration began on 11 October 2007. The furniture and items in the mansion were renewed. Some items were obtained through donation and purchase.

Wax statues of Atatürk, Latife Hanım and Zübeyde Hanım were made by Yılmaz Büyükerşen in Eskişehir for exhibition in the museum and brought to İzmir.

The mansion was opened to the public as a memorial house on 19 May 2008. The official opening took place on 9 July 2008.

The museum hosted 600,000 visitors between 2008 and 2015.

In 2016 the museum was registered by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as a "private museum". In July 2018 an augmented reality application was launched in the museum.

Following damage to the mansion in the Aegean Sea earthquake on 30 October 2020, the museum was temporarily closed due to safety risks. Strengthening works are ongoing, and it has not yet reopened.

Architecture

Latife Hanım Mansion, which carries the architectural features of the late Ottoman period, is a two‑storey building. The ground floor of the mansion has three rooms, and the second floor has one bathroom and three rooms. Its total area is 2,958 m².