You are at the Moment when the Conqueror has Conquered Istanbul… It was May 29, 1453… An age ended and a new one began. This conquest that is the manifest of living together and togetherness of diff erences was pointing a harder quest such as the “the conquest of the hearts”, as told by the Conqueror, as a target… Panorama 1453 History Museum imprints this moment of conquest into our memories…

The first and only full-panoramic museum, “Panorama 1453 History Museum” was opened in Topkapı Culture Park in January 2009… Just beneath the walls that have witnessed the Conquest, so as to be the interpreter of that historical moment… Since the moment when you enter the museum, the panels and dramatic documentaries supported with gravures, miniatures, and scripts depicting the conquest of Istanbul by the Conqueror and the history of the conquest meet the visitors. On the descriptive panels starting with the history of Istanbul and ending with the Conqueror’s death, Istanbul, the Conquest, and the Conqueror are described in detail. For those who do not have time to read the panels, the museum has also a voice guide. The visitors can listen to the conquest of Istanbul in different languages. At the moment when you entered the heart of the museum, i.e. the area including the panoramic picture, you lose your sense of space.

Since the panoramic work in “Istanbul 1453 History Museum” has no point where the picture ends, the onlooker cannot perceive the real dimensions of the work with his optical habits. When the onlooker gets on the platform, he feels a shock that lasts for almost 10 seconds. This is the confusion caused by the failure to fi nd references, anchor points like start and fi nish to perceive the reality and dimensions of the picture. This place gives the onlooker the feeling of being outdoors while actually being indoors. There are 1304 pictures and 10 thousand fi gures in this area. The semicircle and uninterrupted visual structure provides an acoustic feature. When they survive the fi rst shock, the visitors fi nd themselves in the morning of May 29, 1453. Exactly 555 years after the Conquest, you will hear the booms of the cannons cast by the Hungarian cannon maker Urban, the Conqueror’s soldiers shouting takbir (God is the Greatest), the clip-clops of the galloping horses, the sounds of sword fi ghts, and feel that the arrows shot are passing next to your ears. It’s impossible to feel this matchless feeling by reading or looking at the photographs taken there. Numerous people seem to have realized that, because the site has been visited by 800 thousand people in a brief time like one year. Istanbul “1453 History Museum” that is matchless in the world for being the only full panoramic museum tops the list of the sites to visit and see. You can visit Istanbul 1453 History Museum that is open to visitors 7 days a week between 09.00 and 17.00. Our museum also welcomes group visits at different hours in accordance with availability and convenience of the program.

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