Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, project coordinator Serhat Baysan said the project team aimed to have the museum completed by July 2010 and that the museum’s collection would reflect the history of the nine islands (four of which are inhabited) stretching as far back as the pre-Byzantine period with a particular focus on the past 150 years of history. The collection is to include artifacts as well as documents and photographs from the islands’ history.

The museum will chronicle both history and historical culture, displaying how lifestyles have changed from society to society and from generation to generation on the islands, and will host both permanent and roving exhibitions. The project team is still evaluating which artifacts should be part of the museum’s permanent collection.

What is certai at present is that the museum plans include an archive and a library. The museum is to be set up in the Büyükada Elementary School building which has been unused since 1964; the building will undergo restoration and the necessary changes to make it suitable to host a museum.

The Adalar Foundation and Adalar Municipality are cooperating to bring the Istanbul Adalar (Islands) Museum Project to life following the signing of an agreement by Adalar District Governor Mevlüt Kurban, Adalar Mayor Mustafa Farsakoglu, Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency Secretary-General Eyüp Özgenç and Adalar Foundation President Aykut Mutlu. As part of the project, a museum will be established on one of the city’s islands, Büyükada, to exhibit artifacts from the islands’ history.