Naval Museum - Istanbul

Naval Museum - Istanbul

The Naval Museum was first founded in 1897 in Kasımpaşa as the Museum and Library Administration Office.

A ship model workshop was added to the museum by Cemal Pasha in the year 1914 and the foundation of its present status was thus layed.

At the beginning of World War II the collections were moved to Anatolia for safekeeping. They were returned to Istanbul in the year 1946 and were kept in the Dolmabahçe Mosque and the museum was opened to the public in the year 1948.

The muesum was finally moved to Beşiktaş in the year 1961 where it stands now. Today the tomb and monument of Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha also stands at the same place where the museum is situated.

Among the collections displayed in the museum there are historical naval uniforms, ship models of the turkish naval force, paintings of turkish naval history, monograms, documents and other works. The main building of the museum is three storey.

The ground floor is devoted to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Various objects used by Atatürk while on board a number of vessels, books, the model of the yacht Savarona which belonged to him, the models of the ships that bore his casket from Sarayburnu to Izmit and of the freigher Bandırma which he took for his cruise to Samsun.

In the upper floor the Sultan's Wheelhouse of Mehmet IV, paintings of the turkish naval force, portraits of Kaptan pasha and naval ministers, and mannequins of Turgut Reis and Barbaros Hayrettin are exhibited. In the lower floor certain objects beloning to the battle cruiser which witnessed the World War I are displayed.

In the museum there is also an art gallery opened in the year 1993. Competitions with the theme "Sea" are held annually in spring . The Naval museum is open every day except Saturdays and Sundays.