Aya Vukla Kilisesi’nin Müze Binası Olarak Seçilmesi

AbstractDuring the Ottoman Period, in the late 19th century and early 20th century, there were attempts to build a museum building in Izmir, but they were unsuccessful due to financial insufficiency. In the early years of the Republic Period, this issue came to the fore again and presenting the existing ancient monuments to the public under the roof of a museum was adopted as a primary goal. In this regard, a museum building was needed. In those days, either a museum building would be built or one of the existing buildings suitable for a museum would be converted into a museum. During this dilemma, Aziz Ogan was in favor of construction a museum building. The Ministry of Education wanted something to be done about this issue, but could not provide sufficient funds due to economic difficulties. The economic and social problems experienced after Turkish War of National Liberation reached their peak. The housing problem that emerged in Izmir as a result of the 1922 Izmir Fire became more noticeable with the population exchange. In such a period, it is almost impossible to build a museum building or find a building suitable for a museum. Although Aziz Ogan's ideas that a building constructed for other purposes could not be a museum and that a museum building should be built found supporters in Izmir and Ankara, it was decided to turn one of the existing buildings suitable for a museum into a museum due to economic problems. However, it was not possible to find a building in Izmir that could withstand the weight of hundreds of tons of ancient monuments. With the transfer of abandoned temples to the Ministry of Education, research was conducted in this direction, temples that burned and survived the fire were examined and the Aya Vukla Church, which was a solid structure, was found suitable for a museum building.Aya Vukla Church is not located in a good location in Izmir. However, it has advantageous features such as being close to the Basmahane train station and the Izmir-Basmahane Boulevard, which extends to the docks, and being able to accommodate very heavy ancient monuments. Rather than constructing a new museum building, it was seen economically beneficial to convert one of the existing buildings into a museum with very little expense. This issue was examined based on the archive documents of the period and it was concluded that the choice made was a pragmatic approach.