The museum was opened in 1930. The inner court of the museum was temporarily used as the grave of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk between 1938 to 1953 and it was re-opened for its visitors in 1956.
The architect of the building, Arif Hikmet (Koyunoğlu) is considered as one of the most precious architects of the Republican Era.

The building was made with rectangular plan and has only one dome. The stone walls of the museum were covered with kufeki stones. The forehead section was made of marble and decorated with carvings.

The Ethnograpy Museum is the museum in which Turkish art from Seljuk Period to the present is displayed. Each Turkish creations is on displayed as seperate collections.

Bride costumes that are belonging to weddings in Anatolia and various cities of Anatolia, Turkish handling art, art of rug and carpet, mine arts, coffee culture and the salons in which ceremony of circumcision is exhibited are located on the right side of the entrance.

In the Salon of Handlings, samples of Turkish handling art collected from various regions of Anatolia and a great part of Turkish folklore are exhibited.

In the Salon of Rugs and Fabrics, rugs and carpets pertaning to Ottoman Period and also rugs and carpets that are unique to Uşak, Gördes, Bergama, Kula, Milas, Ladik, Karaman, Niğde, Kırşehir regions form the weaving section of the museum.

In the Salon of Mine Arts, the creations of Turkish Mine Arts from XV to the present day are collected and exhibited as collections.

The Gun Section from Ottoman Period are chronologically on display.

The salons in which coffee culture and ceremony of circumcision are on display, are located on the right side of the entrance.

In the Section of Wooden Arts, wooden works of art that are collected from various regions of Anatolia and especially from Ankara, exist. Among them, rare wooden creations with carving, scraping, kundekari, inlaid techniques which were applied in Seljuk, Beyliks and Ottoman Periods; and peculiarly wooden pulpit, niche, door, lectern, windows and folders of cupboard and covers of cüz are exhibited.

Also, Seljuk Sultan Kaykhusraw’s throne (12th Century), Ahi Şerafettin Sandukası (14th Century), Ürgüp Taşkın Pasha Mosque nish (12th Century), Siirt Ulu Mosque Nish (12th Century), Merzifon Çelebi Sultan Madrasah Gate (15th Century) are the most interesting wooden art pieces of the museum.

Besides, glass creations, old handwrittens, antique furnitures, rooms of Turkish houses, embroidered ceilings, furnace and cupboards are also exhibited.

The Salon of Ceramics and Glass Creations, the samples of Ottoman Calligraphy are in the salons which are located on the left side of the entrance.

The salon which is named as Turkish Room, has been arranged similar to a guest chamber of a 17th Century Ankara house.

In the museum, there are also library of handwrittens and printed creations, and the archives in which records of şer’iyye are preserved.

Talatpaşa Bulvarı Türkocağı Sok. No.4 Ulus
Tel: (312) 310 95 56 -311 30 07

The museum is open everyday except Mondays from 08.30-12.00 am to 13.00-17.00 pm.