Passion for Collections

I have been interested in collecting since I was a child When I was just four or five years old my father gave me a Marklin train, and this sparked off my interest in trains and clockwork toys. As time went on I developed an interest in steam engines. When we boarded ferries I used to spend the entire journey watching the engine and breathing in the smell of greasy steam.
We used to travel from Ankara to Istanbul by train, and I loved to watch the steam engine in the station. While I was a pupil at Robert College. I travelled to England, and was fascinated by the value British people attach to antiques, early industrial machines and tools, and how carefully they preserve them. Later, when I was studying at John Hopkins University in the United States, I developed a keen interest in cars. I was a great admirer of Henry Ford. In 1956 I went to Detroit on business and visited the Henry Ford Museum. I was over-awed, and hoped that God would grant me the good fortune to establish such a museum in the future.
So my interest in collecting began with a Marklin toy train, and as time went on expanded to include models, real engines and vehicles. My collection began to fill houses and storerooms. Eventually I began to consider establishing a museum where I could share my collection with everyone. That is how it began.