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| The Blue Mosque.. not military but wonderfully impressive |
I have a very privileged working life. I get to travel all over the world and whilst doing that occasionally manage a day off here and there if the location holds some interest for me in a military context.
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| That's what I CALL a gun! Ottoman cannon of the 15th century |
I couple of years back I made it to Istanbul for a job and was fortunate enough to be billeted less than 400 metres from the Turkish Military Museum.
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| I'll share many shots of this enormous panorama of the fall of Constantinople |
Having walked past the location a couple of times without even noticing it I was delighted when my schedule offered a morning free and I checked the map to find I was on the doorstep. A major feature of the museum is a series of enormous panoramas incorporating mannequins and equipment against beautifully painted backdrops some of which were more than 25 metres long. In the shot above the mannequins and cannons are life sized.
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| Part of an impressive Dardanelles diorama |
My initial thought was, hmmm... I wonder if this will be a bit shabby or whether it is worthwhile. I am embarrassed to admit that view was condescendingly Western European and completely inaccurate. The Turks have an enormously rich military heritage and I was stunned by the quality of the exhibits.
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| Part of a panorama of Turkic tribes attacking the Great Wall of China |
Perhaps some of the political commentary was a little partisan however whose is not? I thought it may be a perfect subject to broaden both the appeal of the blog and to share some truly fantastic militaria with members here.
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| Victory over Christendom at Hattin 1187: detail of yet another massive panorama |
So, Part 1 is a 'come inside' teaser and the subsequent posts will expand more specifically on various wonders which lie within this outstanding museum.
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| The very walls of Byzantium. Doesn't get much better than this |
We also have the opportunity to share plenty of detail of the city walls of Byzantium plus some shots of the Russian Navy at anchor off Istanbul bearing in mind the Black Sea Fleet has only one way in and out and that is straight through the middle of Europe'a largest metropolis and one of the world's megacities.
Come back and enjoy a tour through this outstanding military museum in perhaps 8 or 9 parts depending on whether I run out of steam. I certainly won;t run out of pictures of which I have dozens.
