Military Museum

About Military Museum

Museum in Istanbul

The Istanbul Military Museum (Askeri Muze) is a museum of Turkish military history in the Sisli district near Harbiye, a short way north of Taksim Square, run by the Turkish Armed Forces, which founded it in its modern form in 1959 in the old Military Academy building. It focuses on Turkic military history from the thirteenth century to the present and displays thousands of pieces of weaponry, armour, swords, imperial tents, flags and uniforms from the Ottoman era to the Second World War. Among its most notable exhibits are the huge chain the Byzantines stretched across the mouth of the Golden Horn to keep out Mehmed the Conqueror's fleet during the siege of Constantinople in 1453, the embroidered campaign tents of the Ottoman sultans, and halls on the War of Independence and the Gallipoli battles. The highlight of a visit is the performance of the Mehter band, the Ottoman military band considered the oldest in the world, which gives a concert of traditional marches in Janissary costume with drums and horns in the museum courtyard every afternoon at 15:00, a spectacle enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Where:

Istanbul, Türkiye