Ödemiş Yıldız City Archive and Museum

Ödemiş Yıldız City Archive and Museum

ÖYKAM, located in the Ödemiş district of İzmir, Türkiye's third largest city, is on the road connecting the old station building to the Ulu Mosque. It consists of the Keçecizade Inn, a wooden late Ottoman structure with a courtyard and two floors (probably dating from the second half of the 19th century), and another structure built in 1926 under the name of 'Yıldız Hotel' after a section of this inn was demolished. The hotel section of this group of structures, known to the people of Ödemiş as 'Yıldız Inn', draws attention with its neo-classical style and rose-colored color. The main entrance of the Yıldız Hotel, one of the first modern structures of the Küçük Menderes Basin, of which Ödemiş is a part and its capital, overlooks the Hacı Sadık Hanı, which was demolished in the recent past; and the courtyard entrance overlooks the Tuzcu Inn, part of which still stands but is in ruins. The Yıldız Hotel was built by Aksekili Hacı Hüseyin (Serter) Bey, who settled in Ödemiş in 1910 for trade purposes and later migrated to İzmir; and its architect was a Turkish Jewish citizen, Mario Efendi.

Yıldız Inn, located in Emmioğlu Neighborhood, Hacı Sadık Çarşısı, No: 16 (Ödemiş/İzmir), was confiscated by Ödemiş Municipality in 2006. The projects prepared with the support of the Historical Cities Union were approved by İzmir Cultural and Natural Heritage Regional Board No. 2 and the restoration work was completed in 2009.
The structures above, which Ödemiş Municipality used as city archives and museums to recognize and promote the history and culture of the city and Küçük Menderes Basin; and collecting and preserving the relevant movable cultural assets that are gradually disappearing, were granted 'special museum' status by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye. The official opening was held on February 25, 2012.