Ismet Inonu Museum House

Ismet Inonu Museum House

Ismet Inonu (brother in arms of Ataturk and second president of Turkey) was born in 1884 in this house, which belonged to his uncle and now have been converted to a museum. At the time of his birth, his father Resit Bey was a Deputy Coroner Judge in Izmir Courthouse.

In his book 'Memoirs', Ismet Inonu tells his memories of Izmir: 'For six years, I had spent summer holidays after military school in Izmir. Going to my hometown Izmir, to my uncle's, had always been a great pleasure, and had given me a great opportunity to grow out of my shell. That small and modest house in Degirmen Mountain by the sea still feels like the most magnificent mansion in this world to me... In this context, Izmir was my darling from ages thirteen to twenty two. When I came back to Izmir sixteen years later, under completely different circumstances, I felt the excitement of reuniting with my darling, among other feelings.'

During Ismet Inonu's presidency, this house was bought by Dr. Behcet Uz, Mayor of Izmir at the time, in the name of the municipality. When Izmir Municipality decided to sell the house after 1950, it was bought by Serif Remzi Reyent, a local businessman in close relationship with Ismet Inonu. Serif Remzi Reyent gifted this house to his niece Ayla Okmen. Today, after donation by Ayla Okmen, Ismet Inonu Museum House is property of Inonu Foundation.

Ismet Inonu House was opened for visiting a second time on 24 July 1999, with attendance by Izmir NGOs and a Treaty of Lausanne exhibition. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality renamed the street to 'Inonu Street' in September 2000. Also on this street you can see a mural representing Treaty of Lausanne, installed by Sivas Cumhuriyet University.