The house is the birthplace of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who was born here in 1881.

On the 1st floor is the reception room, with European sofas, a large console table, and a chased brazier; a large sitting-room, with low banquettes around the walls; Kemal's mother's room, with a bed, a banquette, and a trunk; and the kitchen, equipped with contemporary cooking utensils.

Any missing items were replaced with furniture from Kemal's mausoleum and from Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

Before the recapture of Thessaloniki by Kingdom of Greece in 1912, it was known as "Koca Kasım Paşa district" during Ottoman rule.

It was built before 1870 and in 1935 the Thessaloniki City Council gave it to the Turkish State, which decided to convert it into a museum dedicated to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.