On the street at the entrance of the Istanbul Toy Museum, three giraffe statues greet visitors. Many years ago, Mehmet Münif Paşa, one of the first people to settle in the area, had a giraffe statue placed in the garden of his mansion. Because of the statue of Mehmet Münif Paşa, who published the first science magazine, “Mecmuai Fünun”, in 1862, local people in time came to call this area “Zürafalıbahçe” (the Giraffe Garden).

We have also turned the railway underpass on the street behind the museum into a “Dream Underpass”, with the idea that reality follows the footprints of dreams. It is human imagination that reaches from the stars in the sky to the depths of the seas. Civilisation was built when dreams opened their wings to the wind of knowledge. And the one who achieved this is “Homo Ludens”, the playing human.

With the design of the mural artist Kien, an underpass becomes a work of art that is one with the history of its place. People who walk through the underpass come from the sky and come out of the depths of the sea in one direction, while on the other side those who dive into the depths of the sea reach the endlessness of the sky. The diver and the astronaut in one corner of the mural are both people who make their dreams come true and walk the path of science.

In everyday life, the short moment spent walking through “only an underpass” is reflected on people’s faces, through the colours of the world of imagination, as a smile and as the joy of life.

The mural, inspired by the historic space and sea themed toys on display at the Istanbul Toy Museum, brings the richness of our children’s world of imagination to our city…

We thank the mural artist Kien, who made the underpass beautiful with his design, İBB Oyunİstanbul, TCDD, Kadıköy Municipality and Jotun Paint very much…