Military and Maritime Museum in Istanbul

This is one of the leading museums of its kind in the world. The military museum and culture center was reopened at its present building in 1993 with a very successful and contemporary exhibition concept. The former military academy, where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was also a student, was renovated and various additions were made. Today in 22 rooms about nine thousand pieces are exhibited, out of a total collection of fifty thousand objects.

On the ground floor, the display of bows and arrows in the first room is followed by sections containing the weapons and other regalia of the cavalry, daggers and lancets, and sections devoted to Selim I, Mehmet the Conqueror, the conquest of Istanbul, weaponry from the early Islamic, Iranian, Caucasian, European . and Turkish periods. This floor also houses a unique collection of helmets and armor, as well as the sections allocated to firearms and tents. On the upper floor there are rooms where objects from World War I, the Battle of Gallipoli, and the War of Independence, and uniforms from more recent times are displayed. There is also an Ataturk room. The Janissary Band gives concerts in the museum.

Adres: Askeri Müze ve Kültür Sitesi Komutanlığı Harbiye- Şişli / İSTANBUL
Tel : 0 212 2332720
Fax: 0 212 2968618
http://www.tsk.mil.tr/askerimuze/askeri_muze.htm


Photograph © Dick Osseman. http://www.pbase.com/dosseman