Military Museum - Istanbul

The core part of the Military Museum which is located inside the Harbiye Barracks are the display pieces brought from St. Irini. From the conquest of Istanbul to the period of Sultan Ahmed the 3rd, all types of weapons were preserved in St. Irini Church on the back part of St. Sophia Mosque.

This warehouse was designed to make it available for public visiting by the order of Sultan Ahmed the 3rd in 1726. With the break of World War II, it was moved to Niðde in 1940 for safety reasons. After the war, these weapons were brought again to Istanbul Macka Armory. In 1955, the museum was relocated to where it is now, the gym of Harbiye Barracks. The restoration of this building was completed in 1959 and it was turned into a museum. However, the inadequate building was restored again and was partly open to service in 1986, and the building as a whole was finally opened to service in 1993.

The resourceful collection of the museum consists many interesting pieces such as uniforms belonging every period of Ottoman army, various weapons from bow and arrow to triggered guns, seals, armors, tent of the sultan, sultan swords, flags, photos of ministers of defense, Byzantine Cavalry Flag, various warfare pieces used from the Selcuk period to the Republic period, the chain with which Byzantines closed the Golden Horn.

Address: Valikonagi Road, 80200 Nisantasi – Istanbul
Phone:+90 212 240 62 55