Tarsus Çanakkale Park Museum is a museum in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The main exhibition of the museum is Nusret minelayer. The museum is free of charge.

Location

The museum is an - open air museum in Tarsus

ilçe The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the ''kaza''. Most provinces bear the same name as their respectiv ...

(district) of

Mersin Province Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of fo ...

at . The minelayer is situated in a park laying at the north side of the Turkish state highway to

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

. The auxiliary building is situated to the east of the ship.

Nusret

Nusret is a famous ship for her services during the naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The length of the ship is and width is . (Although the original name was ''Nusret'', she is also called ''Nusret''). Her service life as a minelayer ended in 1955. In 1962 it was sold to a private firm to be used as a dry cargo ship. In 1990 she was sunk in

Mersin Harbor The Port of Mersin ( tr, Mersin Limanı), is a major seaport located on the north-eastern coast of Mediterranean Sea in Mersin, southern Turkey. As one of the largest harbors in the country, it is Turkey's main gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. ...

Rescue operation

In 1999 she was rescued by a group of volunteers in Mersin. But her fate was to be sold to be used as a raw material in industry. Tarsus municipality decided to keep the minelayer as a commemorative of the naval victory. On 4 October 2002, she was carried to Tarsus from Mersin. Although the distance between Mersin and Tarsus is only , it took 4.5 hours to carry it. Tarsus mayor (and 2014-2019 Mersin metropolitan municipality mayor) Burhanettin Kocamaz said; "''Now hero Nusret, you can sleep properly in your place Çanakkale Park, this is your place. Your destiny is changed. Tarsus and people in Tarsus owned you''" during the naval victory celebrations held on 18 March 2003, on the 88th anniversary of the naval victory He added that Tarsus municipality was awarded a certificate of appreciation from

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

. During her usage as a cargo ship she had been modified. Thus a group of experts were sent to

Çanakkale Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...

(theatre of the naval battle) to learn the details of the original vessel. Accordingly, the ship was repaired. She was opened to visits on 27 December 2003, during the anniversary of liberation of Tarsus from French occupation following the First World War.

Other exhibits

In the auxiliary building there are other exhibits about Gallipoli Campaign (including land battles). Tophaneli Hakkı Bey (the commander of the minelayer) has a special section in this building. There is a symbolic military cemetery including Seyit Onbaşı (Seyit Çabuk) who was famed as a very strong corporal carrying a shell during a crucial moment in the naval battle.News page
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Gallery

File:Name plate of Nusrat minelayer in Tarsus.jpg, Name plate of Nusret minelayer File:Nusrat mine layer in Tarsus b.jpg, Nusret minelayer File:Seyit Onbaşı statue in Tarsus.jpg, Seyit Onbaşı statue in Tarsus

References

{{authority control Museums in Mersin Province Tarsus, Mersin National museums in Turkey Museums established in 2003 Turkish Naval Forces 2003 establishments in Turkey