Necmi İğe House

Necmi İğe House (Necmi İğe Mansion, Necmi İğe House Ethnography Museum), located in Edirne and serving as an ethnography museum since 2021, a mansion dated to the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century.

It is the oldest surviving example of civil architecture in Edirne. It is situated on Mimar Sinan Street, which stretches between the Selimiye Mosque and the Muradiye Mosque. The approximately 900‑square‑metre building has been functionalized as a museum that conveys the region’s way of life, traditions and customs, and social life to visitors. Its garden is an open area that serves for post‑wedding events and ceremonies held on official and private days.

History

The mansion was commissioned by İğcioğlu Ahmet Ağa at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The selamlik part was built as a single floor on the ground level, while the haremlik part was constructed with an intermediate floor and an upper floor above the ground level. When the second floor of the selamlik and haremlik parts collapsed, the building that remains today consists of the ground floor and the first floor.

It has 7 rooms and 6 smaller rooms. After being used by the Edirne Defterdar Emin Bey and his family, it remained empty for a period. In 1922, because Necmi İğe, who was the Edirne Defterdar and known as “the city’s Necmi Brother,” and his family moved into the mansion, it has been called Necmi İğe House. Necmi İğe is a descendant of İğcioğlu Ahmet Ağa, the builder of the mansion, and was born in this house in 1898. The Necmi İğe family lived in the house until 1953. After 1953 the vacant mansion fell into ruin.

The Edirne Provincial Special Administration rented the mansion for 49 years to use it as a museum. The building was restored by the Thrace Development Agency. The restoration was completed in 2020. The mansion converted into a museum opened to visitors on 4 July 2021.

Konak is the oldest surviving example of civil architecture in Edirne. Its garden and the single‑storey annex added during restoration are used for post‑wedding events, cocktails, and ceremonies held on official days.

Museum exhibition arrangement and collection

On the ground floor of the building there is a bride‑seeking room, a dowry room, collections of Balkan‑Greek traditional costumes, and a bride‑groom exhibition. On the first floor there are spaces dedicated to Edirnekâri art, mirrored broom making, lead casting, table etiquette, a collection of kitchen utensils, a collection of musical instruments, a henna night, wedding dinner preparations, groom shaving, and areas set aside for an imam wedding.

The bride‑groom convoy horse‑drawn carriage and a photo platform for wedding souvenirs, located at the point where one enters the garden from the street gate of the Konak, are used in contemporary weddings.

Fountain

On the ground floor, on the northeast façade of the building, there is the original fountain built together with the structure. The fountain is marble‑mirrored and made in the form of a “Turkish pointed arch”. Behind the fountain there is a reservoir where water is stored. From the marble mirror it can be understood that the construction date is 1696.