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{{Short description|Museum in Istanbul}}{{More citations needed|date=June 2023}}(File:Askeri muze Istanbul.jpg|thumb|Main building of Military Museum.)(File:İstanbul 5823.jpg|thumb|Istanbul Military Museum.)File:Askeri Müze 970.jpg|thumb|A display of cannoncannonFile:Askeri Müze 971.jpg|thumb|The chain, which the Byzantines stretched across the mouth of the Golden Horn to keep out the navy of Mehmed II in 1453 during the siege of Constantinople.]]{{multiple image }}Istanbul Military Museum () is dedicated to one thousand years of Turkish military history. It is one of the leading museums of its kind in the world. The museum is open to the public everyday except on Mondays.

History

The museum initially opened in Saint Irene Church. Later in 1950, it was moved to the First Army Headquarters building in Cumhuriyet Caddesi, Harbiye, not far from Taksim Square in Istanbul. Harbiye districtWEB, 2011-10-10, Military Museum (Askeri Müzesi),istanbul-tourist-information.com/en/experiences-in-istanbul/museums-in-istanbul/military-museum-askeri-muezesi/, 2023-05-25, en-US, (an Ottoman derivation from the Arabic word harb for warfare) was the site of the Ottoman imperial military academy, the empire’s “West Point” or “Sandhurst” and is still an important military installation. In 1957, the museum was reorganized by General Ahmet Hulki Saral. The military museum and culture center was renovated and reopened at its present building in 1993 with a very successful and contemporary exhibition concept.

Collection

A fine collection of historical weapons, uniforms and tools of various periods of the army are on display. The highlights are the magnificent campaign tents and standards. Outside the museum, interesting Ottoman cannons and mortars, a rail gun, aircraft, helicopters are on display. In 22 rooms about nine thousand pieces from the Ottoman era through World War I are exhibited, out of a total collection of fifty thousand objects. It holds striking historical treasures such as the chain that the Byzantines stretched across the mouth of the Golden Horn to keep out the Mehmed II’s navy in 1453WEB, Istanbul Military Museum of Turkey,www.memphistours.com/Turkey/Turkey-Travel-Guide/Museums/wiki/Istanbul-Military-Museum, 2023-05-25, www.memphistours.com, en, during the siege of Constantinople. The east wing of the museum is used for temporary exhibitions, meetings and similar activities. On the ground floor, the display of bows and arrowsWEB, Military Museum {{!, NiÅŸantaÅŸi, Bomonti & Harbiye, Istanbul {{!}} Attractions |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkey/istanbul/besiktas-and-ortakoy/attractions/military-museum/a/poi-sig/1250587/1324701 |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=Lonely Planet |language=en}} in the first room is followed by sections containing the weapons and other regalia of the cavalry, curved daggers and lancets carried by foot soldiers in the 15th century, 17th century copper head armor for horses and Ottoman shields carried by the janissaries, and sections devoted to Selim I, Mehmed II, 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 great field tents used by sultans on their campaigns. On the upper floor there are rooms where objects from World War I, the Battle of Gallipoli, and the Turkish War of Independence, and uniforms from more recent times are displayed. There is also a room which is dedicated to Atatürk, who studied in the building when it was a military academy between 1899-1905.

Cultural performances

The Janissary Band “Mehter Takımı”, world’s oldest military band gives concerts of march music in traditional uniforms each afternoon. The Ottomans was the first to use musicians in military campaigns and to integrate music into the life and work of the army. After a town had been conquered, the Mehter preceded the conquering Ottoman commander on a procession through the town, playing slow-cadence marches in exotic minor modes. The boom of kettledrums, invented by the Mehter, the wail of oboes and clash of cymbals, (another Turkish invention) was meant to glorify the conquest and impress upon the populace that they were now part of an entirely different civilization.

Gallery

File:Ä°stanbul 6122.jpg|Standard of Turkish Armed Forces in the Korean War.File:Ä°stanbul 6130.jpg|F-104 StarfighterFile:Istanbul Military Museum cannon 01.JPG|Cannons exhibited open-air in the backside street of the museum.File:Istanbul Military Museum cannon 02.JPG|Cannons exhibited open-air behind the Istanbul Military MuseumFile:Ä°stanbul 5823.jpgFile:Ä°stanbul 6132.jpgFile:Istanbul Military Museum 2946.jpg|Istanbul Military Museum diorama conquestFile:Istanbul Military museum 6556.jpg|Istanbul Military museum Multi-barrel gunFile:Istanbul Military Museum 2996.jpg|Istanbul Military Museum Gatling gunFile:Istanbul Military Museum 3001.jpg|Istanbul Military Museum Ottoman gunFile:Istanbul Military Museum 6534.jpg|Istanbul Military Museum pinfire gunFile:Istanbul Military Museum 6570.jpg|Istanbul Military Museum Recycled armsFile:Istanbul Military museum 3035.jpg|Istanbul Military Museum, Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s deskFile:Istanbul Military museum 6567.jpg|alt=Istanbul Military museum Mahmut Åževket Pasha car|Istanbul Military Museum, Grand Vizier Mahmut Åževket Pasha’s carFile:Istanbul Military Museum 9327.jpg|Istanbul Military Museum Mehter performanceFile:Istanbul Military Museum Mehter 9313.jpg|Istanbul Military Museum Mehter performanceFile:Decoration Bronze Cannon Istanbul Milliary Museum SULTAN MEHMET THE CONQUEROR( REIGNED 1451 to 1481.jpg|alt=|Istanbul Military Museum: Decoration on the barrel of a bronze cannon from 1400’sFile:Canon Decoration Millitary Museum Istanbul SULTAN MEHMET THE CONQUEROR period bronze FINAL.svg|alt=|Decoration from a bronze cannon - Istanbul Military Museum{{Coord|41.0484|N|28.9883|E|display=title|region:TR_type:landmark}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Istanbul Military Museum}}

• Pictures of hundreds of objects in the museum

{{ÅžiÅŸli}}{{Museums in Istanbul}}{{Authority control}}