In 1924 İsmet İnönü bought The Pink House which was an orchard house at that time. He spent his next 48 years in this house. He moved in here with his family in 1925 and lived here until 1973.
After Ankara became the Capital; Pink House, being one of the oldest houses in Ankara, was a stage for many first-events and held very important place in our society.
With Atatürk taking the lead, meetings and discussions on The Revolution were held at The Pink House.
On 22 February 1927, the first ball ever in Ankara was held here, at the Pink House. In addition, many first time events of the new republic like concerts, exhibitions, scientific meetings took place here. Chess and snooker games, horseback riding competitions, dressage races were organized in the House, and in its surrounding gardens. There were horticultural experiments on varieties of flowers, trees and pinewoods in order to find out the suitable vegetation for Ankara’s climate. All these listed activities were part of İsmet Pasha’s special interests.
İsmet İnönü was very fond of fine arts; paintings, sculptures and polyphonic music. At a younger age, he had taken up cello. He attached importance to founding and improving the state conservatories. He did not want to miss a single concert, play, opera or an exhibition. He loved sport activities, especially horseback riding. He cared for the nature. He was very good at recognizing trees like pinewoods. He enjoyed reading, valued his books; and had a large collection, 8000 volumes in his private library.
One area that The Pink House set an example for was the family life, İnönü and his family had a modern life style yet were observant of Turkish customs.
İsmet Pasha and Mevhibe Hanım got married in 1916 in İstanbul. When wars got in the way, they lived separately for years and went through very difficult times. It was only after 1925 that Pink House became happy family home. Their oldest son Ömer was born in İzmir; their second son Erdal and their daughter Özden were born in this house.
An excellent example of a contemporary Turkish woman, Mrs. Mevhibe İnönü was the first to use Modern Turkish alphabet in this house, as well as adopting the modern dressing style. While defending the women rights, she stood by his husband as abiding by the traditions.
The dining room was the most inviting and dwelt in room of this House. Atatürk had contributed much to the design and furnishing of this room.
Atatürk had a routine; at nights he used to call his friend and tell him that he would like to come over for dinner, sometimes accompanied by 10 or 20 people. But never without asking if there was enough food for his guests. If they had enough, that was not a problem but if there was not, then he would bring the food himself.
Atatürk used to gather around this table with his friends and most important issues of that time had been discussed and solved in this room.
VISITING HOURS:
Pink House is open to visit twice a year for a whole month; during April including 23rd of April and in October including 29th of October. Admissions are free. Opening dates and times are announced by İnönü Foundation.
ADDRESS:
Şehit Ersan Cd. No:14 Çankaya-ANKARA
Telephone: 0 312 428 18 41
Fax: 0 312 427 15 26
E-Mail: inonuvakfi@ismetinonu.org.tr
