Fig. 03 · PortraitŞennur Ülker, in the workshop
N° 03 · Story
Retying a thread that had snapped.
Toy-making in Eyüp Sultan began with Hasan Efendi in the 1500s and ran for centuries — until 1955, when the last master gave up production and the craft fell silent. In 2005 a joint project of the History Foundation, Eyüp Municipality and İşkur trained a new generation of masters.
One of them, Şennur Ülker, founded the Traditional Eyüp Toymaker in 2017 to carry the tradition on. In 2019 she was granted the Ministry of Culture's Wooden Toy Master title. Today the toys are once again made in Eyüp — and made by hand.
1565Hasan Efendi designs more than 30 toys on the road he began for his grandchildren; Eyüp toy-making is bornFirst master
1635Evliya Çelebi records 100 shops and 105 toy masters in his SeyahatnâmeSeyahatnâme
1955The last master, Halit Şengöz, gives up production; the first era ends after 455 yearsLast master
2005The History Foundation, Eyüp Municipality and İşkur project trains new Eyüp Toy MastersRebirth
2017Şennur Ülker founds the Traditional Eyüp ToymakerFounded
2019Şennur Ülker is granted the Wooden Toy Master titleMinistry of Culture
2020Eyüp toy-making is registered as Intangible Cultural HeritageHeritage
