Marin Museum Bodrum
The first step towards establishing a Maritime Museum in Bodrum started with exhibiting “Bodrum type boat models” at the 2010 Bodrum Yacht Festival. With the contributions of the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce and the Bodrum Municipality, the old Bedesten building in the center of Bodrum was allocated as a new museum building. It opened its gates to the public in 2011.
After the museum’s entry, visitors see a list of people and organizations who helped the Maritime Museum during its foundation and after. There is also detailed information about Bodrum’s naval history and boat building. Boatbuilding was also influential in ancient times in the Caria Region. A local Ottoman shipyard was in the town, and ships were built for the Ottoman Navy. Boat construction, which was on the verge of disappearing, has reached its current position under the leadership of masters such as Ziya Güvendiren and his students. They have revived the boat building since 1940.
The scaled models of boats sailed in the region or built in Bodrum are exhibited in the museum. These models were meticulously made by the famous boat builder Ali Kemal Denizaslanı. On the Ground floor, visitors can also see the Bodrum region’s boat models used for transportation, fishing, photographs of famous captains, diving and ship equipment, and the boat of favorite Turkish author Orhan Veli.
In the Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (Fisherman of Halicarnassus) section, the information starts with his family tree, photographs of his infancy, and his youth with remarkable photographs selected from his family album. The museum also displays his writings, paintings, and personal belongings in this corner.
Some of the items were gifted to the museum by his daughter, İsmet Noonan, and his adopted son, Prof. Dr. Şadan Gökovalı, on different dates.
Again, on the lower floor are models of boats used in transportation and fishing are exhibited. In the last section of the lower floor, there are military ship models bearing the names of historical people who lived in or related to Bodrum. These ship models were presented to the museum by the Turkish Navy. Naval Forces gifted The paintings showing Turgutreis and Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha to the museum.
The museum’s upper floor is partly reserved for sponge fishing, which was once the most important profession in the region. Boat models used for sponge fishing and the tools used in this profession are displayed. Artifacts such as diving suits, helmets, weights, and knives used by sponge divers are exhibited here. The different sponge specimens found in the Aegean and Mediterranean are also seen.
The models exhibited in the museum contain precious information about boats, the owner, and the construction date of the boat. There is a miniature model of Gangava used in sponge hunting. This tool, designed to collect sponges, also contributed to underwater archeology by finding some shipwrecks. Visitors can see the model of Kemal Aras boat Mandalinci. Kemal Aras was a sponge diver who showed the archaeologists some important ship wrecks and played an essential role in underwater archeology. We also see boats used in sponge fishing, meticulously prepared by the renowned boat builder Ali Kemal Denizaslani.
Sea Shells Collection
The special section on the museum’s upper floor, the “Hasan Güleşçi Seashells Collection,” is displayed. Visitors can enjoy this precious and rich collection containing approximately 6,000 seashells belonging to 168 families, collected by Hasan Güleşçi in various parts of the world over 40 years.
The museum offers a unique treasure for those interested in or collecting seashells.
This collection of seashells from almost all the world’s seas, collected by Hasan Güleşci, has been classified with great care and presented to the visitors. These astonishingly beautiful and rich seashell collections genuinely add value to the museum.