The childhood belongings of the famous poet Nazım Hikmet were exhibited at the Istanbul Toy Museum. Organized in 2010 with the support of the Nazım Hikmet Foundation on the 47th anniversary of the poet’s death, the exhibition featured the artist’s childhood cape, cardigan, shoes, baby spoon, and toys from his study in Moscow.

A significant part of Nazım Hikmet’s childhood was spent on Taşmektep Street in the Göztepe neighborhood. With this exhibition, the poet’s childhood was brought back to life years later in Göztepe, where he ran and played. Sunay Akın, the poet and writer who founded the Toy Museum, said the following about the exhibition: Nazım Hikmet loved toys. Whenever he saw a toy shop, he would press his hands against the window like a child and gaze at them for a long time. That is why toys appear frequently in his poems and writings. For example, he used to describe the toys in the window of the Japanese Store in Beyoğlu in the newspaper Akşam, which he wrote for under the pseudonym Orhan Selim… With the support of the Nazım Hikmet Foundation, the famous poet will be featured in a toy museum for the first time in this exhibition. The belongings of Nazım Hikmet on display were particularly significant as they bore traces of the children’s world from a century ago.