Military Museums of Istanbul,
Istanbul Military Museum:
The military museum was opened in 1959 in the gymnasium of the former Military College in Istanbul. The museum contains the weapons used by the Turkish army over the past hundreds of years, and various military equipment and documents. All the items are arranged in chronological order as follows :
XII and XIII centuries: Weapons and a unique Imperial helmet.
XIV. Century: Weapons dating from the time of the establishment of the military organization of the Ottoman State, the helmet of Orhan Gazi, the shield of Yakup Celebi, the armour of Gazi Evrenos Bey, equipment of the first military bands.
XV century: A piece of the chain which was used to pull the ships over land to the Golden Horn during the conquest of Istanbul, a picture of the conquest, works of the Mameluke states etc.
XVI century: Weapons, horse armour, spears, swords, shields, pennants, and helmets from the reigns of Yavuz Sultan Selim and Sultan Suleyman the Law Giver.
XVII century: Examples of Ottoman period weapons. Arrows, quivers and bows, firing arms, the sword of Sultan Mehmet IV, pictures of the Belgrade war and the Second Seige of Vienna, manuscripts of the Koran.
XVIII and XIX centuries: Ottoman flags and standards, rifles, clothes of the Janissaries and the New Order.
Among the XIX century exhibits are revolvers, military uniforms, pictures of the Ottoman-Russian War, and the Wars of Aziziye, Kars and Plevne, tents belonging to Sultan Abduthamid II, presents received from European states etc. One section of the museum has been reserved for exhibits from the Liberation War and the Republic. Among these are maps and photographs from the Liberation War, the sword of the Greek Commander in Chief General Trikopis, medals and epaulets, and weapons from the Korean War.
Upon completion, the Istanbul Military Museum will be moved to a new building at the Military College.
Istanbul Naval Museum:
The first Naval Museum in Istanbul was established in Kasimpaa in 1897. In 1949 its contents were moved to Dolmabahce Mosque, and in 1961 moved again to the former Finance building in Besiktas where they were exhibited and the museum opened to the public. Among the items exhibited in the Naval Museum are the clothes are worn by Turkish sailors in the past, models of Turkish ships, pictures, engravings, maps, documents and objects concerning Turkish naval history. On the ground floor of the museum are mines, banners, and a Captain’s bridge. On the middle floor and in the hall are ships’ symbols and in the other two rooms models of the ships and submarines Ertugrul, Refah, Atilay and Dumlupinar, Ataturk’s cabin from the yacht Ertugrul, firing arms, pictures of shipbuilding yards, and relics of the Crimean War. On the upper floor are pictures of Hunkar Kosku and the Turkish navy from the sultan’s gallery of Sultan Mehmet IV, portraits of captains and marine ministers and wax figures of Turgut Reis and Barbaros Hayreddin.
