Harbiye Military Museum and Cultural Site Command — Attraction in Şişli

Istanbul Military Museum (Turkish: Askerî Müze) 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 Mondays and Tuesdays. 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 district (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. 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. The military museum and culture center was renovated and reopened at its present building in 1993 with a very successful and contemporary exhibition concept. Today 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 Sultan's navy in 1453 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 arrows 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, 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 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...

The museum has good exhibits of swords, daggers, armour spread around several floors, nicely displayed and precisely described in Turkish and English, and shown in chronological order and gives you ample opportunity to learn about Turkey’s rich past. The most imposing exhibits are the silk tents used by Ottoman sultans during invasions. Don’t miss the part of the Museum showing the great chain that Byzantines stretched across the Golden Horn in 1453 during the Ottoman siege of the city. My favourite exhibit is a flag from the 1389 Kosovo battle which took place on Kosovo field and was the beginning of the Ottoman Empire’s expansion into the Balkans and later into Europe. Even though the flag is faded you can still see the Ottoman inscription and blood stains on it.

To hear the Mehter Band you have to be at the Military Museum at 3pm when there is a performance of 17th and 18th century Ottoman military music in full period costume. The special theatre built within the museum resembles an amphitheatre and has very good acoustics. The whole performance lasts for about half an hour and during this period you can learn why the Ottoman Army was so feared. According to the information at the Military Museum the Mehter Military Band is the oldest one in the world and all other military bands are an imitation of this one. Some believe that sound delivered from the Mehter had an influence on European classical music with composers such as Haydn (Military” Symphony), Mozart (The Abduction from the Seraglio) and Beethoven (Passage of the final movement of his...

Five stars for anyone who enjoys military history or Turkish history and four stars for everyone else.

This museum is located close to Taksim Square so is not difficult to visit. After all, does anyone visit Istanbul and not make it to Taksim Square - at least on their first visit?

The museum is massive. If one spends even a few minutes at several artefacts in each gallery it's easy to cross two hours! For anyone interested in the stuff, budget 2.5 - 3 hours (excluding the military band show).

The museum walks visitors through Turkish military history from its inception until the contemporary period, including UN Peacekeeping operations in Korea. That means the Ottoman period and the War of Independence are well covered.

However, visits to the museum should be timed to coincide with the Ottoman military band show which occurs daily at 15.00 hours. The pageantry and music is worthwhile even for non-military types.

The Army Museum is well worth the entrance fees and half a day. The visit can be combined with Taksim Square and Istiklal Cadessi - standard attractions on the Istanbul tourist trail.

Please note the museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday (at the time...