Çamlik Railway Museum

Çamlik Railway Museum. Footslogger (Atlas Obscura User)

You don’t have to be a rail buff to love this place. The outdoor museum is set in a beautiful garden on an abandoned stretch of 19th-century railroad tracks. It stores the most amazing collection of over 30 old steam engines from between 1891 to 1951. It is a photographer’s dream, full of rusting rail monsters ready to be climbed upon.

Alongside this wonderful display of historic steam engineering, you’ll find all sorts of paraphernalia from the glory days of steam. Among them is the private rail carriage of Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey.

The journey to this museum in Çamlik village, near the town of Selçuk, is an adventure in itself. It is well worth the trip; the museum is not widely known, and needs support to continue.

Know Before You Go

You can get there by dolmuş from Selçuk (see museum website for details). If Turkish is not your first language then write your destination down for the driver, it’s easy. The dolmus stops outside the museum. Taxis are much more expensive and may have to wait there while you visit, which puts pressure on your visiting time. There’s a wonderful restaurant on site too.