If you’re a fan of quirky and unusual museums, you might want to add the Avanos Hair Museum to your bucket list. This museum, located in the town of Avanos in central Turkey, is home to more than 16,000 hair samples from women all over the world.
The museum is housed in a small cave under a pottery shop, owned by a local potter named Chez Galip. He started collecting hair samples from his female customers in 1979, after one of his friends left him a lock of her hair as a souvenir. He hung the hair on the wall of his workshop, and soon other women followed suit, leaving their hair and their names and addresses.
Galip says that he keeps the hair samples as a way of remembering his friends and customers, and as a source of inspiration for his pottery. He also claims that he has contacted some of the women who left their hair decades ago, and invited them back to his shop for a reunion.
The museum has grown over the years, and now covers the walls and ceiling of the cave with hair of different colors, lengths and styles. Some of the hair samples have notes or photos attached to them, telling stories of the women who donated them. Some of the hair samples are from famous people, such as politicians, singers and actresses.
The museum is open to the public, and anyone can visit it for free. Visitors can also leave their own hair samples if they wish, and join the thousands of women who have contributed to this unique collection. Galip says that he hopes to create a Guinness World Record for the largest collection of human hair in the world.
The Avanos Hair Museum is not only a museum, but also a symbol of friendship, creativity and curiosity. It is a place where you can see the diversity and beauty of women from different cultures and backgrounds, and learn about their stories and experiences. It is also a place where you can leave a part of yourself behind, and become part of a global community of hair donors.
If you’re looking for a museum that will surprise you, amuse you and make you think, you might want to visit the Avanos Hair Museum. It is definitely one of the most hair-raising attractions in Turkey.
