Key Museum – Turkey's Largest Automobile Museum

Did you know that there is a huge automobile museum in Torbalı district of İzmir? Frankly, I didn't know until I planned a weekend trip to the south of Izmir. Founded by Özgörkey family, one of the deep-rooted families of İzmir, and KEY MUSEUM A collection of 130 cars and 40 motorcycles is on display in the museum.

With this collection, it has the distinction of being Turkey's largest automobile museum. Information about Key Museum, collection details, Key Museum entrance fee, Key Museum directions and much more information you can find in my article.

Where is the Key Museum! How To Get To The Key Museum?

Key Museum is located in Torbalı industrial zone, a few kilometers from Torbalı. It was opened on the site of an industrial facility belonging to the Özgörkey family.

If you want to come to the Key Museum, which is approximately 50 minutes away from Izmir city center and 30 minutes away from Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport by your own vehicle, there are several ways;

• You can come to Torbalı with İZBAN from İzmir and take a taxi from Torbalı to the Key Museum. Taxi will cost around 15TL.
• From İzmir, you can get off with İZBAN at Tepeköy stop and take one of the buses numbered 701 or 712 and get off at the “Temel” stop, or you can take the “Çapak” minibuses from the same station and get off in front of the museum.

Key Museum Address and Phone

Below is the address and phone number of the Key Museum.

• Address: Capak Mahallesi Ozgorkey Caddesi No:5 Torbali/Izmir
• Phone: +0 232 850 35 35 XNUMX
• Website: keymuseum.com

Where Does the Key Name Come From?

Key means key in English. The car is pretty good for being the name of a museum on display. At the same time, the fact that the surname of the Özgörkey family, who founded the museum, ends with "key" is what inspired the name of the museum.

Key Museum Collection

What is not on display in the Key Museum 🙂 There are hundreds of items from the first automobiles and motorcycles to Cadillacs, from BMWs to Mercedes, from vehicle mascots to model cars, from petrol pumps to motorcycles and scarves. It is possible to see vehicles of different brands and models in the museum, which is spread over 1886 square meters, from the first automobile produced in 7000.

I think it can attract the attention of everyone of all ages, including me who says I have no interest in cars because; vehicles almost take people on a journey in history. Details such as the beauty of aesthetics in old cars and the elegance of even fruit/vegetable vehicles cause people to question today's aesthetic understanding. You can see the mechanical development of cars step by step.

The museum consists of 4 main halls, the first 2 large halls are the most impressive ones in my opinion. There are also smaller exhibition areas in between, I think we can count 2-3 of them; The section with mascots and the section with toy cars are smaller exhibition areas.

If we list the Key Museum collection piece by piece;

Car Collection

From the first automobile produced in 1886 to this day, 130 automobiles where you can see the change in the automobile world are exhibited in the museum. Among these cars, there are even the first models produced by car brands such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Porsche and Mini, which have shaped the automobile industry. Not only the first models, but also very special models produced at different times are in the museum.

Moreover; It is possible to see the vehicles, which are among the few replicas of legendary vehicles such as the Batmobile and the Batcycle, in the museum.

Motorcycle Collection

19 different motorcycles of different brands and models have taken their place in the collection, including the first motorcycle produced by BMW in the late 40th century. Motorcycles have their own private lounge. It is a collection that will attract the attention of lovers of two wheels.

Mascot Collection

One of the most interesting parts of the Key Museum was the mascot collection. Did you know that these mascots were used to decorate vehicles in ancient Egypt? Of course, then vehicles, not motors. This tradition continued when automobiles were produced. Between 1920 and 1950, automobile mascots reached their peak in popularity. From ballerinas to lions, from archer figures to jaguars, many unimaginable figures have been used as mascots.

The mascots made in art deco style by the famous French glass artist Rene Lalique between 1860-1945 are also very interesting.

The museum also has a large 300-piece mascot collection.

Model Car Collection

Probably every man has collected a model car at some point in his life. I even bought a few motorcycle models from the countries I went to. In the Key museum, exactly 1 model cars are exhibited in 8:1, 12:1 and 18:2550 scales. At the entrance to the hall where model cars are exhibited, there is a tiny and iridescent racetrack decoration, I loved it too.

Scarf Collection

The work of the scarf in the automobile museum, I seem to hear what you are saying 🙂 Let me remind you of the beautiful woman's scarf waving in the wind, sitting in an open-top car in old movies.

Scarves, one of the most special accessories of the 20th century, have of course been influenced by the changes and developments in the automobile world. Famous brands that shape fashion; Thus, 39 different scarf models, which sometimes carry automobile figures and sometimes direct automobile brands, found their place in the collection.

Gas Station and Pump Collection

As the automobile became widespread from the beginning of the 1900s, the gas stations and the accessories used there began to increase. A Shell gas station from the 1950s, prepared with original equipment, has also found its place in the museum. There are also different examples of petrol pumps in the museum.

Key Museum Service Hours and Days

The museum opens at 10:00 except Mondays/Tuesdays and serves until 17:00 in the evening. Ideal for a weekend trip. In addition, there may be cases of being closed when there are official and religious holidays and special events, it may be good to get full information from social media accounts or by calling.

How Much is Key Museum Entrance Fee?

Key Museum has the status of a private museum. For this reason, it is not possible to enter with the Museum Card, but there is a 15% discount for the Museum Card.

Key Museum Museum Entrance Fees

Key Museum museum entrance fees are listed below. It is worth remembering that these fees are for November 2018.

• full 20 TL,

• 65TL for students, teachers and over 10 years old

• If you come as a group of 10 people or more, the entrance fee is 15 TL.
• Entry to the museum is free for 0-6 years old, disabled people, one person accompanying each disabled person and members of the press.

A Few Details About Key Museum

• Another feature of the vehicles in the museum is that they are still in working condition, isn't it beautiful? It is aimed to preserve the originality of each piece and to work better than before.

• There is also a cafe inside the museum; If you want to take a tea, coffee or cold drink break, it is ready to serve.

• It is not possible to enter the museum with a bag on you, I did not understand the logic of it. But they want you to leave your bag in your vehicle. They did not accept even though I have a very small crossbody bag. There isn't a safety deposit box either, so they want you to leave it in your car.

• You can take as many photos and videos as you want.

• The museum has its own parking lot in front of you and you can use the parking lot for free.

• It was pretty secluded when we went around 10:30 on Saturday morning. There were only a few people besides us. For the visit, you can choose the morning hours for calmness.

This is a museum that I would definitely recommend you to take time to visit if your path falls to this side.

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