Harbiye Military
Museum where documents and proofs of military
affairs bearing significant roles in world
history are present, is one of the museums worth
seeing in Istanbul...
The museum where
periodical “Mehter (janissary
band of musicians) concerts”
are conducted was built as a Military
Academy in 1841. The
building served as a military academy until
1936 and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,
the founder of Republic of
Turkey was also studied in this school from
1899 to 1905.
The building
was restored in 1966,
turned into a modern military museum,
preserving its historical and
architectural character. In 1993,
the Site of Culture and
some other sections were added to the
museum and it was opened for visitors in
its present form.
There are
about five thousand artworks and
artifacts on exhibition in the
Military Museum. In its rich
collection, there are various weapons,
military clothes, tents, flags and
banners along with other cultural
assets. Among these cultural assets are
wooden and metal rifles, pistols,
cannons and swords which are finely
embellished with decorations.
In the
museum there is a special section
allocated to Atatürk that should be seen
without fail. Also, there are
illustrations for significant military
events such as “the conquest of
Istanbul”,
“War of Independence”.
The Military Museum
is open for visit everyday except for
Monday and Tuesday,
from 09.30 to 16.30.
There is the “Mehter concert”
from 15.00 to 16.00
everyday the museum is open.
