Bodrum Maritime Museum

The Bodrum Maritime Museum is Turkiye's first and only private maritime museum. The seeds of the Bodrum Maritime Museum were sown in 2010 with the display of 18 model boats in front of Bodrum Castle as part of the Bodrum Yacht Festival program, as well as the Museum Project Promotional Exhibitions, which drew attention by traveling to various cities. This museum, which was created through a collaboration between the Municipality of Bodrum and the Chamber of Commerce of Bodrum, opened to the public on October 15, 2011, after the old, covered bazaar building was allocated to the museum.

In the museum, you can learn about everything from the history of Bodrum's maritime and boatbuilding traditions to modern boatbuilding methods, from sponge diving, which is part of the district's maritime culture, to the stories of the region's first divers and fishermen. The museum also displays a rich photographic collection scanned from nearly two thousand photographs of the first sailors, sponge divers, tourism professionals, and families who once made their living by sea, with the goal of introducing new generations to Bodrum's maritime culture.

Ali Kemal Denizaslani, a master craftsman and Bodrum native, faithfully modeled Bodrum's unique boat types in his own workshop. Visitors can view models of real-life traditional Bodrum boats such as the Tirhandil, Ayna Kic (Transome), and Gulet in special showcases. Models of more than 50 Bodrum type boats, which were built in Bodrum, put to sea, and served the sailors of Bodrum for a long time, are gaining popularity among visitors on a daily basis. In addition to each boat model, the frames include information such as the first owner, year of construction, years of operation, and function of the boats.

Cevat Sakir Kabaagacli, the famous novelist and story writer known as the father of the blue voyage and the Fisherman of Halicarnassus, also has a corner in the museum with some of his personal belongings, documents, books, and photographs. You should definitely look through this collection, which has been augmented by archives donated by Sadan Gokovali, a close friend of the Fisherman, and his daughter Ismet Noonan.

Hasan Gulesci's valuable and fascinating Seashell Collection and Stamp Collection, which he collected from various parts of the world over a 40-year period, can also be seen in a special section on the museum's upper floor.

The Bodrum Maritime Museum, like other modern museums, hosts a variety of events. Aside from seminars and presentations about maritime culture and history, the museum hosts regular art workshops for children where they can craft, learn, and have fun all year round!

Recently, the Bodrum Maritime Museum has been working on several projects. The Museum Ship is one of them. The TCG Guven (Sea Magician), built in Germany in 1937 as a diving ship for the Turkish Navy, is planned to open to the public as a museum ship. The Sponge Diving Museum is another exciting project which will be housed in a venue owned by the municipality of Bodrum and currently used as the Artemisia Exhibition Hall.

There is also a small sales section with various products appealing to people of all ages for those who want to leave the Bodrum Maritime Museum with a lovely souvenir. Books about Bodrum and its history, seashell crafts, gifts made by children in the Bodrum Health Foundation’s ceramic workshop, all books by Cevat Sakir Kabaagacli, special Bodrum Turkish Delights full of Bodrum flavors, and Bodrum Tangerine Cologne can all be purchased here.

Bodrum Maritime Museum
Carsi Mah. Nazim Hikmet Sok.No:4/1 Bodrum

www.bodrumdenizmuzesi.org

0 252 316 33 10
E-Mail: bodrumdenizmuzesi@gmail.com