Until recent times, there were additional buildings around the madrasa, which were used as barracks. In 1970s and 1980s, these additional buildings were destroyed and its surrounding was re-arranged. The madrasa, whose restoration continued from 1984 to 1994, was opened to the public as the Turkish-Islamic Works and Ethnography Museum on October 29th 1994 as a unit connected to the Erzurum Museum Directorate.
Ethnographic works relating to the regional culture and art are being exhibited in the museum.
Sections in the Museum
1- Section of Women Jewellery and Clothes Caps, rings, hairpins, rings, earrings, Jewellery boxes, bindallı clothes, etc are exhibited.
2- War Tools Section:War tools used in the Ottoman Period and in the first times of Republic such as rifles, pistols, swords, gunpowder boxes, binoculars, oilcans are exhibited.
3- Section of Men Jewellery and Pleasure Works Belts and Jewellery belonging to the Ottoman Period and first years of the Republic, tobacco boxes, watch chains, rings and armlets are exhibited.
4- Metal Works Section Tombak long spouted ewer and washtub, gold inlaid ornamented long spouted ewers, recovery pots, plates, etc works can be seen in this section.
5- Weaving Section The pilgrim clothes are introduced with their new styles in order to improve and spread the pilgrim cloth production that is one of the traditional hand arts of the region and that is disappearing because of the declining use area.
6- Carpet and Kilim Section The samples of carpet and kilim weaving, which is a hand art introduced to the world by the Turks, belonging to the Eastern Anatolian Region are exhibited.
7- Hand – written Works Section Hand writings written on various subjects belonging to the Ottoman Period, the place faced during the prayer and writing sets are exhibited.
8- Tariqa and Weighting Tools Section Among these works provided to the museum by purchase, there are boat shaped beggar’s cups, piety and Rufai needles, tambourine, mace, battle axe and drachmas of weighting tools, various hand scales, box scales, etc.
9- Seljuk Ceramics Section In this section, where unique samples, most of which belong to Seljuk Period and survived until today, are exhibited, there are plates, candles, rythons and similar ceramics.
10- Oltu Stone Section The historical development of the material that is obtained in Oltu District of Erzurum and used for making prayer beads, earrings, necklaces and similar ornamental goods, named as “Oltu taşı” is explained and some samples are exhibited.
11- Coin Section The coins belonging to the Turkish and Islamic Periods and the banknote samples belonging to the Ottoman period and the last periods of the Republic are exhibited chronologically.
Yakutiye Madrasa
In accordance with the inscription on the crown door of the madrasa, it was constructed by Cemaleddin Hoca Yakut Gazani in the name of Gazanhan and Bolugan Hatun in the time of Sultan Olcayto, the İlhanlı Ruler in the year 710 according to the Islamic Calendar (in 1310).
The efforts for constructing various-purposed architectural works in Anatolia, which started just after the Turks’ coming to Anatolia, were continued in spite of all historical events and the traditional architectural style of the Seljuk Period was continued in Yakutiye Madrasa and a monumental structure was constructed.
The building is included into the group of madrasas having a closed courtyard and four liwans. The western liwan is handled in a different style and constructed in two floors. The southern liwan is planned as a mosque and marble foundation charters are placed on both walls of this liwan. The mid courtyard is covered with a dome having a circular building decorated with pictures. There is a tomb at the end of the eastern liwan. There is no grave in the tomb.
The balance provided by the outside-projecting crown door of the madrasa and the minarets at two corners has been provided in the entire structure by placing a tomb across the front. This is important in order to show that architecture was carried out with scientific methods in the Seljuk Period. But one of the minarets in the corners has been destroyed up to the balcony while the other one has been ruined down to the base and they are both covered with cones. Importance was given to the symmetry and balance in the plant and geometric motifs and symbolic representations on the front side. Both the ornaments on the crown and cell doors and the encaustic tile ornaments on the minaret show the point reached in art and the importance given to art in that period.
There is an open-worked sphere, a life tree, and leopard figures on each side of the crown door, in arches, and there is a double-headed eagle on the upper side. This is a symbol that we often see in various buildings with some differences and that includes the expression of religious beliefs in the Seljuk Period.
