IMPERIAL MUSEUM
However, the first regular museum works appeared when the İstanbul Archaeological Museums was founded in 1869 as the Imperial Museum (Müze-i Hümayun). The Imperial Museum, which consisted of archaeological artifacts collected until then and exhibited in the Hagia Irene (Aya İrini) church, laid the foundations of the İstanbul Archaeological Museums. Saffet Pasha, then Minister of Education, was closely interested in the museum and acted personally to expand its collections. Additionally, he made Edward Goold, a teacher of English origin in the Galatasaray High School (Galatasaray Lisesi), to be appointed as the director of the museum.