Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House, founded by Ahmet Piriştina City Archive Museum (APIKAM) of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, was opened after the restoration of a historical building in Buca for about 120 years. In the Immigration and Exchange Memorial House, a two-story classical Buca house opened in 2017, the issues related to the exchange period are reflected both chronologically and thematically through the memories.
Although the exact year of construction of the Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House is not known, it is thought that the building was built in 1904 at the latest, from the date of 1904 written at the head of the marble fountain in the garden. Although there is no inscription, the experts agree that the Greek letters G and N inscribed in the marble fountain in the garden are the owners of the building.
In fact, the Immigration and Exchange Memorial House is a Chios style building in Buca, which is used frequently by non-Muslim and local people in architecture, apart from Levantine families. Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House, has gum type technical features, is a museum house consisting of two floors and a small garden.
Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House, the restoration of which was completed in 2013, occupies an important place in the sense of filling the cultural and social gap of Izmir, which has been growing with migrations.
The fact that Buca, which has been the dormitory of the Greeks for a long time, has been hosting the Immigration and Exchange House, is also of symbolic importance. Unlike Greece, although the work on exchange in Turkey began very late, the Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House consists of a collection of personal belongings of 1.7 million Turks and Greeks related to forced migration during the exchange period.
In this collection, which consists of personal belongings donated to the museum by the exchanged families; You can travel to the past through a 2 centuries old Cretan mirror and get lost in the details of a Rhodes work of at least 2 centuries. In the Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House, there is also a diary where the grandchildren of the 3rd generation immigrants write their stories about their families.
In fact, another feature of the House of Immigration and Exchange is the interactive game room. The question in the game is “What would you put in your suitcase if you were subjected to forced migration overnight?” In this interactive game at the Buca House of Immigration and Exchange, you are only allowed to take one suitcase with you. In the nature of this game, you can feel the psychological and economic devastation caused by forced migration.
Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House, where the legendary ship Gülcemal was also expressed with a small animation, was awarded the Immigration Museums award in the Historical Cities Association Museum Incentive Competition.
Where is Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House? 📍
Address : Menderes Neighborhood , 132. Street. 41B, 35370 Buca , İzmir
Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House Visiting Hours 🕖
Immigration and Exchange Memorial House is open to visitors between 10.00 and 17.00 on weekdays. Entrance to the Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House is free of charge.
How to get to Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House ? 🚖
Bus: It can be reached to Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House by taking the ESHOT buses numbered 104, 304, 470, 476, 490, 515, 676, 805 and 940 and getting off at Heykel bus stop and taking a 3-minute walking. Buca Immigration and Exchange Memorial House is located in Kasaplar Square.
