Şanlıurfa independence museum restored in Türkiye’s southeast

ŞANLIURFA

The newly restored Mahmut Nedim Efendi Mansion in the city.

Authorities in Türkiye’s southeast have completed the restoration of the historic Mahmut Nedim Efendi Mansion, outfitting the museum commemorating the city’s 1920 liberation from French occupation for day and night visits using modern exhibition facilities.

Şanlıurfa Governor Hasan Şıldak toured the facility with journalists, stating the museum now allows around-the-clock tours. Şıldak later inspected ongoing construction at the Halilürrahman Prophets and Scholars Complex on the Balıklıgöl Plateau, the Urfa Digital History and Culture Island and a local observatory.

“This mansion carries the symbol of the independence struggle in our city,” he said. “We are bringing our mansion back to Şanlıurfa and our country through newly completed interior arrangements. Artifacts from the liberation period will be exhibited here as an expression of our resolve to defend our homeland.”

The complex sustained structural damage during the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes centered in neighboring Kahramanmaraş province. Officials said the renewed layout introduces an ethnographic museum concept, providing visitors with immersive insight into the province’s historical golden page.

Built with traditional architecture in 1903 in the Atatürk neighborhood, the Ottoman-era mansion served as a military base for French forces occupying the city after a brief British presence following World War I. Local residents liberated the city on April 11, 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence, turning the structure into an enduring civic symbol before the Şanlıurfa Governor’s Office converted the property into a museum.