Bakirkoy
General Information
District: Istanbul, State: Marmara Region, Turkey
Area: 0 km²
Languages Spoken: Turkish
Long Distance Code: (+90) 0212
Best Time to Visit: May to August
International Access: Istanbul Atatürk International Airport (IST)
Istanbul Aviation Museum
At the end of the 1st World War, presence of one, two or three aircraft of all types produced by the Germans in the post 1st World War period at the hangars, as well as aircraft belonging to various other nations, oldest one of which is related to year 1912, caused the Inspectorship of Air Force to adopt a decision on founding an aviation museum. Collection of booty aircraft seized from the enemy took start. However, those aircraft were considered to be brought to Kartal Maltepe, so that they would not be damaged during the War of Independence, but a part of the aircraft was largely damaged in the course of transportation. Aircraft wreckages that occurred during the War of Independence due to those damages delayed the idea of building an aviation museum.
In 1960, upon an order by then Air Force Command Air General İrfan Tansel, the idea of building an Aviation Museum in Turkey was brought to agenda and, to that end, it was requested with an order issued in 1963 that aircraft used by the Air Forces and other units, one from each, were reserved. As a result of the efforts exerted, an Aviation Museum Organization was established in 1966 and Turkey’s First Aviation Museum was inaugurated at the Civil Airport in İzmir Cumaovası in 1971.
İstanbul Aviation Museum
Despite attracting great attention at the inauguration, search for a new building area for the Aviation Museum commenced, since it did not draw the attention of visitors at the required level due to its distance from the city center and transportation difficulties. As the decision towards repairing Cumaovası runway, improving the airfield training flights and benefiting from this field for civil air traffic gave rise to new problems in terms of housing and settlement, transfer of the Aviation Museum to a more proper place became essential.
Aviation Museum kept operating in İzmir-Cumaovası until 1978. As a result of the survey conducted, the idea of making a decision on deploying the Museum at the area next to the Military Airport located in İstanbul-Yeşilköy, where Air Force Academy is also deployed nearby, was corroborated as the most proper building area for the Aviation Museum, considering its location, visitor potential, improvement and maintenance conveniences, the fact that it was also where the first air unit and the historical importance it bears.
Due to the above stated reasons, the new Aviation Museum building construction took start in 1977 and was completed in 1983. Interior architecture and decoration of the Museum built on an area of 65.000 m2 in total, covering exhibition areas, 2.365 m2 of which is closed and 12.000 m2 open, with the approach of modern museology, were carried out by technical staff and experts from Istanbul Provincial Culture, Building and Monuments Directorate and Mimar Sinan University and the museum was opened to visit by General Halil SÖZER, Commander of the Turkish Air Force, on 16 October 1985.
Closed On: Monday
Timings: 09:00-16:30 except Monday and Tuesday
Remarks: Address: Yesilköy Mh. 34149 Bakirköy/Istanbul Phone: +90 212 663 24 90 Fax: +90 212 663 15 60 Website: www.hho.edu.tr/muze/muze.htm
At the end of the 1st World War, presence of one, two or three aircraft of all types produced by the Germans in the post 1st World War period at the hangars, as well as aircraft belonging to various other nations, oldest one of which is related to year 1912, caused the Inspectorship of Air Force to adopt a decision on founding an aviation museum. Collection of booty aircraft seized from the enemy took start. However, those aircraft were considered to be brought to Kartal Maltepe, so that they would not be damaged during the War of Independence, but a part of the aircraft was largely damaged in the course of transportation. Aircraft wreckages that occurred during the War of Independence due to those damages delayed the idea of building an aviation museum.
In 1960, upon an order by then Air Force Command Air General İrfan Tansel, the idea of building an Aviation Museum in Turkey was brought to agenda and, to that end, it was requested with an order issued in 1963 that aircraft used by the Air Forces and other units, one from each, were reserved. As a result of the efforts exerted, an Aviation Museum Organization was established in 1966 and Turkey’s First Aviation Museum was inaugurated at the Civil Airport in İzmir Cumaovası in 1971.
İstanbul Aviation Museum
Despite attracting great attention at the inauguration, search for a new building area for the Aviation Museum commenced, since it did not draw the attention of visitors at the required level due to its distance from the city center and transportation difficulties. As the decision towards repairing Cumaovası runway, improving the airfield training flights and benefiting from this field for civil air traffic gave rise to new problems in terms of housing and settlement, transfer of the Aviation Museum to a more proper place became essential.
Aviation Museum kept operating in İzmir-Cumaovası until 1978. As a result of the survey conducted, the idea of making a decision on deploying the Museum at the area next to the Military Airport located in İstanbul-Yeşilköy, where Air Force Academy is also deployed nearby, was corroborated as the most proper building area for the Aviation Museum, considering its location, visitor potential, improvement and maintenance conveniences, the fact that it was also where the first air unit and the historical importance it bears.
Due to the above stated reasons, the new Aviation Museum building construction took start in 1977 and was completed in 1983. Interior architecture and decoration of the Museum built on an area of 65.000 m2 in total, covering exhibition areas, 2.365 m2 of which is closed and 12.000 m2 open, with the approach of modern museology, were carried out by technical staff and experts from Istanbul Provincial Culture, Building and Monuments Directorate and Mimar Sinan University and the museum was opened to visit by General Halil SÖZER, Commander of the Turkish Air Force, on 16 October 1985.
Closed On: Monday
Timings: 09:00-16:30 except Monday and Tuesday
Remarks: Address: Yesilköy Mh. 34149 Bakirköy/Istanbul Phone: +90 212 663 24 90 Fax: +90 212 663 15 60 Website: www.hho.edu.tr/muze/muze.htm