The Home of Nobel Laureate Aziz Sancar Being Turned into a Museum

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Prof. Dr. Aziz Sancar's childhood home in Savur district of Mardin, where he also lived during his medical practice, is being converted into a museum.

The childhood home of Nobel Prize-winning Turkish scientist Prof. Dr. Aziz Sancar, where he also lived during his medical practice, is being converted into a museum. Mardin Provincial Administration and Mardin Metropolitan Municipality have prepared a project to restore and convert part of the historic 3-storey, 36-room mansion where the Sancar family lived into a museum. Preliminary documentation work has commenced at the house, and restoration work will begin once weather conditions improve. Governor Mustafa Yaman expressed his satisfaction and pride to AA correspondent regarding Prof. Dr. Aziz Sancar's receipt of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Yaman stated that Sancar is a distinguished scientist serving as a role model for young people and noted the existence of the historic mansion where Sancar lived and which holds his memories. Yaman said they wish to convert the house into a museum and recalled that the mansion has not been in use for a long time. Yaman pointed out that the house will first be restored and stated: "We have reached an agreement with the Sancar family regarding converting the house into a museum. We want to preserve his memory and also turn it into a museum house. We are conducting our work accordingly. The mansion needs restoration because it has not been used for a long time. As Mardin Provincial Administration and Metropolitan Municipality, we are providing support for this. Our colleagues have started their work. I believe we will complete the restoration in a very short time. We will make it available for the use of guests who visit. We will keep his memories alive and preserve the original character of that period and way of life for future generations."  

"The house where the foundations of the Nobel Prize were laid"

Aziz Sancar's nephew Mahmut Sancar said that part of the mansion, which consists of 36 rooms and 12 units, is still being used as a residence. Noting that the apartment where Sancar lived is in a state of disuse, Mahmut Sancar emphasized that the decision by the provincial administration and municipality to convert the house into a museum delighted the family. Expressing that converting the historic house into a museum will contribute to district tourism, Sancar stated: "Domestic and foreign guests who come to the district want to see the house where Aziz Sancar lived first. It is in very poor condition because it has been abandoned for years. After Aziz Sancar's mother and sister left the district in 1990, it has not been used. The house where Aziz Sancar was born and raised, where the foundations of the Nobel Prize were laid, is in a state of disuse. There are also books from Sancar's student years."  

"He used the house like a hospital"

Mahmut Sancar recounted that during the period when Sancar practiced medicine in a town attached to the district, the house where he lived outside working hours was flooded with patients, saying: "It was used like a state hospital. He did not charge anyone; in fact, he even covered medication costs from his own pocket." Expressing that converting the house into a museum will add great value to the district, Mahmut Sancar said they would invite Aziz Sancar to attend the opening ceremony after restoration. Cengiz Sancar, Aziz Sancar's nephew who lives in the mansion, also expressed his satisfaction with the conversion into a museum.  

District residents pleased

Vasfi Doğruyol, a district resident, noted that they take pride each time they visit the room Sancar used during his student years, saying: "We are proud that a world-renowned scientist came from our district. Converting his house into a museum has delighted Savur residents. I believe it will greatly contribute to the promotion of our district. We are looking forward to Aziz Sancar visiting our district." Özcan Tırpan also said that converting the house into a museum makes them happy, stating: "This way, the memory of scientist Sancar will be preserved."   Source