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A nearly 200-year-old mansion in Türkiye's Karabuk province that operated for decades as a hotel and restaurant has reopened as a coffee museum.
The Safranbolu Coffee Museum occupies part of the Havuzlu Asmazlar Mansion, built in 1830 for Huseyin Cavus Bey, who governed the town at the time.
The complex has two buildings and is among the largest historic mansions in Safranbolu.
Museum founder Semih Yildirim said the mansion's most distinctive feature is an indoor pool. Pools in such houses are normally outdoors, he said.
"It was used for many purposes," Yildirim said. "The water served as fire protection and for irrigation, and its sound helped keep private conversations private."
"When the governor held meetings, people nearby could not make out what was said over the running water," he said.
The Asmazlar family, who lived in Safranbolu, bought the property in the 1930s and lived there for years. In 1976, the Turkish Touring and Automobile Association purchased it.
After a major restoration that lasted until 1988, it opened as what Yildirim described as Anatolia's first boutique hotel.
The building continued as a hotel and restaurant until it closed about 18 months to two years ago. It has now reopened under a new concept, with the museum in the second mansion, set in a garden. That building belonged to the governor's deputy.
Yildirim also mentioned that the garden is especially appealing in autumn, when the trees change color. Visitors can relax there and learn about the history of coffee.
"They experience Safranbolu to the fullest in the atmosphere of this mansion," said the founder.
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