Scent museum opens in Türkiye’s rose capital Isparta

ISPARTA

A historic church dating back to the 1750s has found new life as Türkiye’s first fragrance museum in the western province of Isparta, globally renowned for its rose oil that gives perfumes their lasting scent.

Once used both as a place of worship and perfume production by the city’s Christian and Greek residents, the restored Aya Baniya Church now houses the Misparta Scent Civilization Museum — the name derived from combining Isparta with the Turkish word ‘mis,’ meaning pleasant scent.

Isparta Mayor Şükrü Baçdeğirmen said the project was inspired by the city’s fragrance heritage. “We discovered that this church was once a perfume-making site, where lavender was boiled in its gardens and rose water was used for healing. The idea of transforming it into a scent museum felt natural. Isparta is the homeland of fragrance,” he said.

The museum, one of only five of its kind worldwide, showcases rare artifacts, including what is believed to be the world’s oldest perfume formula — A 4,500-year-old blend of 16 ingredients, among them rose.

Visitors can not only view but also experience the scents from Mesopotamian and Anatolian civilizations to Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Among the highlights is the Goddess of Perfume statue, exhibited for the first time in Türkiye.

Home to 803 endemic plant species, Isparta produces 90 percent of Türkiye’s lavender and meets 65 percent of global rose oil demand.

“To obtain one liter of rose oil, four tons of rose petals must pass through distillation. It’s an extraordinary process,” Başdeğirmen explained. “Countries like France, Switzerland, Italy and the United States purchase our oil to ensure the longevity of their perfumes.”

In the museum’s workshops, visitors can also craft personalized perfumes matched to their body chemistry and scent preferences. “Each fragrance has a unique code,” the mayor noted. “If a visitor returns years later, we can recreate their exact scent.”

Supported by the Western Mediterranean Development Agency, the project has revived the church with a centuries-old craft.