Arkas Deniz Tarihi Merkezi

About Arkas Deniz Tarihi Merkezi

The Arkas Maritime History Center (Arkas Deniz Tarihi Merkezi) is a maritime museum in Bornova, opened in 2012 by Arkas Holding in a 19th-century Levantine mansion on 80. Sokak. It tells the story of seafaring from 3000 BC to the twentieth century through ship models, marine paintings and nautical antiques collected over more than 30 years by Arkas Holding chairman Lucien Arkas. The house is one of the grand Levantine mansions of Bornova. Many of the Levantine families who made İzmir a hub of Eastern Mediterranean sea trade built homes in Bornova and Buca, then suburbs of the city, and this is one of them. Local histories record it as the Victor Whittall House, bought by Victor Whittall in 1949; the İzmir tourism portal notes that the Arkas family also lived here. The heart of the collection is its ship models, which recreate vessels that left their mark on history. Lucien Arkas writes that the collection began after he saw a model of HMS Victory by the model maker Engin Alsan at an exhibition, and the models were built by master craftsmen including Metin Gürkan, Bedri Selay, Ergin Bürge, Azmi Beydeş, Nezih Bekat, Alpay Türkekul and Coşkun Güreli. Alongside them hang paintings of famous events and heroes from Turkish and world naval history, together with maritime antiques, nautical charts and sponge-diving gear. The centre also runs guided tours and family and children's programmes through Arkas Sanat. Visiting: every day except Monday, 10:00 to 18:00.