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Denizcilik Arkeolojisi Dergisi Maritime Archaeology Periodical

The Çanakkale (Dardanelles) Maritime Museum ÇImenLIK FOrtreSS (KALe-I SuLtAnIYe)
commemorating the Sea and Land Battles in 1915 Mehmet II (the Conquerer) built the Çimenlik Fortress
opened its doors first on March 18 , 1982. The ex- (Kale-i Sultaniye) for the defense of Istanbul at the nar-
th
hibition outline was re-devised in 1995. Afterwards, rowest section of the Bosphorus Strait, on the Anatolian
in 1999 it was rearranged in line with modern muse- side in 1461-1462. The location later on became the cen-
ology without altering the existing exhibition style. ter of the new settlement. Renovated in line with arising
In this context, interactive exhibits were launched in needs, the fortress was modernized particularly in the
some parts of the museum in order to make visitors 19th century, and the western walls in parallel with the
have different experiences. The exhibition outline Bosphorus Strait were demolished to build gun emplace-
was ultimately re-designed in 2000, considering the ments and ammunition store. In 1915 during the Battle
modern museological criteria. Presently, activities of Çanakkale,Çanakkale war it served as the Central De-
continue in line with application projects . fense Group’s Command and Control location. Piri Reis
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The Çanakkale Maritime Museum consists of the declared that he wrote “Kitab-ı Bahriye” in this and the
Çimenlik Fortress, an art gallery, a conference hall, a Gallipoli Fortress . In this section of the museum, pho-
3
library and the TCG Nusret Museum Ship. The Mine- tographs and engravings depict how the fortress and the
layer Nusret is one of the most important sections of the Çanakkale Strait were defended during battles.
museum. A replica of the Minelayer Nusret that played Furthermore, cannons used in the Battle of Çanak-
a heroic role in the Naval Battle Victory on March 18, kale and during other periods are also in display in the
1915 was built by the Gölcük Naval Shipyard in 1:1 garden and parking area of the fortress. The museum
scale to be displayed in Çanakkale Museum. contains significant examples reflecting the spirit of
The cannon collection in Çimenlik Fortress is an- the time and the violence of the war. One of these is
other “must-see” section for visitors. This important the cannonball fired from the British battleship HMS
section has been expanded over time. Several sur- Queen Elizabeth on March 18, 1915, that did not ex-
veys were performed in battle fields by a group of plode, but remained in a hole that it opened about 2 m
volunteers; command post archives and inventories in diameter on the northern wall of the fortress.
were reviewed, and the collection was enriched by The first storey of the fortress contains an exhibition
bringing together the items from private persons and that consists of the weapons and military equipment
organizations. used during the Battle of Çanakkale. Besides, the
The library built within the museum structure came time course of the battle is explained in the company
into service in 2002 as the Çanakkale Expertise Li- of a guide with panels, models and cinevision. On the
brary. It was organized as an Expertise Library on second storey, viewers get a chance to observe the vir-
the Battle of Çanakkale, providing a collection of tual battle-front setting, where facilities of both sides
local and foreign books and periodicals related with of the war can be compared. Recreated scenes from
the subject. The reading hall provides a comfortable the naval campaign can be observed in a section pre-
work environment for researchers. Document collec- pared by using the voices of the war veterans from the
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tion process continues uninterruptedly to enrich the Battle of Çanakkale. Additionally, the museum con-
library, aiming to collect all the documents available tains waterpaint and charcoal paintings by Mehmet
in the field. Ali Laga, and paintings by F. Korkut Uluğ.

1 www.denizmuzeleri.tsk.tr
2 S. Kazankaya Aras, Editor: Prof. B. ONUR “Deniz Müzeleri ve Deniz Müzeciliği; Dünyada ve Türkiye’de”, Deniz Kuvvetleri Ko-
mutanlığı Yayınları, İstanbul Deniz Basımevi Müdürlüğü, 2012, İstanbul.
3 S. Murad Hatip, Bahriye Şehri Kala-i Sultaniye, Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı Yayınları, İstanbul, 2009.

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