Notes from the workshop.
N° 05 · JournalShort pieces on craft, history and the workshop.
A History of Eyüp Toy-Making
The milestones of Eyüp toy-making from 1565 to today: Hasan Efendi, the 100 shops recorded by Evliya Çelebi, the last master, and the revival.
Library · 2018Read →
The Eyüp Toymakers' Bazaar
From the Toymakers' Cul-de-sac on İskele Street to the pages of Reşat Ekrem Koçu — the story of the bazaar at the heart of the craft.
7 June 2018Read →
Eyüp Toys and Eyüp Toy-Making
Timber from Tahtakale, leather from Sütlüce, clay from Kağıthane — the story of the materials that made Eyüp toys.
27 January 2018Read →
The Imperial Caïque and Its Toy
Sultans arriving at Eyüp Sultan by caïque for the accession ceremonies, and the toy forms of those boats — the story of an Eyüp classic.
9 October 2018Read →
The Itinerant Toy Sellers of Eyüp
Cradles, rattle carts and whistling jugs in a peddler's basket; the itinerant Eyüp toy sellers who walked into Halide Edip's memoirs and Turkish cinema.
19 June 2018Read →Which Woods Are Used in Toy-Making?
Why beech is the first wood of toy-making, where birch comes in, and why poplar belongs at the workbench rather than in the toy.
11 June 2018Read →
What Makes the Eyüp Toy Workshop Different
Why the Eyüp Toy Workshop is not just another painting workshop: story, interaction and place.
8 October 2018Read →The Eyüp Toymakers Through Evliya Çelebi's Eyes
A grand gentleman tugging at a nanny's sleeve, crying 'I want this toy!' — the scene Evliya Çelebi recorded in the 17th century is the oldest known glimpse of Eyüp toy-making.
12 July 2026Read →
Why Were Children Brought to Eyüp?
A visit to the tomb, a toy on the way back — children brought to Eyüp for circumcision kept the city's oldest toy market alive.
12 July 2026Read →
Toymakers' Lane: The Story of a Street
From twenty-five shops down to two, then to none — the rise and disappearance of Toymakers' Lane is Eyüp toy-making's most concrete memory.
12 July 2026Read →
The Last Master: A Century of the Şengöz Family
From Kadir Usta's moulds to Halit Usta's apprenticeship, and on to the 2005 project — the Şengöz family's chain of craft in Eyüp toy-making.
12 July 2026Read →Fifty-Seven Women, One Tradition
Through a joint EU and İşkur project, fifty-seven women from Fener-Balat relearned Eyüp toy-making in 2005. The official story of the tradition's revival.
12 July 2026Read →
The Academy Wrote About Our Workshop
Academia has turned its attention to Eyüp toy-making and our workshop: a thesis, an article, participant observation, and a heritage carried forward through story.
12 July 2026Read →
Yesterday 'a Cracked Noise', Today Cultural Heritage
Once mocked as 'a cracked noise,' Eyüp toys are now registered on Türkiye's national cultural heritage inventory — the story of a perception that turned around.
12 July 2026Read →
The Story of Twenty-Eight Pieces
First shown in Beyazıt in 1939, the 28-piece collection now lives at the İBB City Museum — the toy types it holds still live on in our workshop and museum.
12 July 2026Read →
Karagöz and Ebru: Our Neighbours on the UNESCO List
Karagöz joined the UNESCO list in 2009, ebru in 2014; Eyüp toy-making has its own place too, registered under code 1.008.01/34 in Türkiye's national inventory.
12 July 2026Read →What Does an Eyüp Toy Give a Child?
From the pull-cart to the miniature butter churn: the old designs of Eyüp toys hide a pedagogy that researchers have pointed to.
12 July 2026Read →
The Family Tree of the Kaynana Zırıltısı
A child's toy can trace its family tree all the way back to an implement on a wandering dervish's back — that is the story of the kaynana zırıltısı.
12 July 2026Read →
From the Golden Horn's Red Clay to the Whistling Jug
A craft branch overshadowed by wood: clay jugs shaped from the Golden Horn's red clay, filled with water and made to whistle.
12 July 2026Read →