Back	THE OTTOMAN BANK MUSEUM Opens to the Public! The Ottoman Bank Museum, founded by the Garanti Bank and located in the former head office of the Ottoman Bank on Voyvoda Street, opens its doors tomorrow (December 19). The museum, which will rank among the top banking museums in the world, was introduced to the press in a conference attended by the general manager of the Garanti Bank, Ergun Özen, and the museum's curator, Prof. Edhem Eldem. Ergun Özen declared that they were proud to fulfill their promise "to safeguard the historical legacy of the Ottoman Bank", made at the time of the Garanti /Ottoman Bank merger the previous year, on December 16, 2001. "Since then," he said, "we have expanded the range of activities of the Ottoman Bank Archive and Research Center. We have a formal association with Boğaziçi University and will collaborate to make the Ottoman Bank Archives readily accessible to the world of scientific investigation. And now, in a period of only 9 months, the Ottoman Bank Museum has come into being." The general manager added that they were, as always, committed to sharing the treasure of archival material they had inherited from the Ottoman Bank with the public. For his part, historian Edhem Eldem pointed out that the wealth of documents in the Ottoman Bank Archives - which provide fascinating perspectives into the social context of the late Ottoman and early Republican period - actually exceeded the space available in the museum. Eldem, who with the support of the Ottoman Bank Archive and Research Center, and in collaboration with architect Prof. İhsan Bilgin and graphic designer Bülent Erkmen, is responsible for the concept and creation of the museum, added that upcoming events such as special exhibitions, lectures and seminars would greatly contribute to keeping the museum a dynamic and vital space. Organized around and inside the four safe rooms located within the Ottoman Bank's former head office in Karaköy, the museum displays documents from the Ottoman Bank archives, the richest private archival source in Turkey. In the two-storied Mecidiye safe room-named after the silver coins which were stored there-a separate exhibit is entirely dedicated to the role of the Ottoman Bank as a bank of issue, displaying a large collection of Ottoman Bank notes as well as proofs, numbering books and other documents relating to this important aspect of its operations. The computer screens at the end of the main exhibit hall offer visitors the possibility of a virtual tour of the archives. Based on alternate chronological and thematic flows, this interactive visit displays the major trends in the history of the bank and provides detailed information about the political and economic context and prominent figures and events of the time. The museum is open to visitors every day from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and from the new-year on, you can contact us through the internet at www.obmuze.com .