Sehzadeler Museum

The Şehzadeler Museum in Amasya opened in 2007 in the historic Hatuniye quarter of the city, near the riverside district where many of Amasya's Ottoman-era houses still stand. Its name, meaning "Museum of the Princes," refers to Amasya's distinctive place in Ottoman history as one of the empire's designated training cities, where young şehzades, the sons of reigning sultans, were sent to serve as provincial governors and gain administrative and military experience before a possible accession to the throne, a tradition the city shared with only a handful of other Anatolian centers such as Manisa and Trabzon. Built at a cost of roughly 1.2 million Turkish lira, the museum is devoted to presenting this history, with displays tied to the generations of princely administrations that passed through Amasya over several centuries of Ottoman rule. It gives visitors context for the palace remains and administrative buildings still scattered through the city's old town.