Istanbul’s Naval Museum is home to one of the few naval collections in the world and Turkey’s first military museum. We interviewed Captain and Museum Commander İlyas Gültaş about the museum’s rich collection and the fact that it compares to a secret giant waiting to be discovered in the centre of the city.
Some of the subjects we touched upon were the museum’s foundation, collection and mission, and its significance as cultural heritage within a modern understanding of museum studies.
Honourable Captain and Naval Museum Commander İlyas Gültaş, before interviewing you on the history and collection of the Naval Museum, may I kindly ask you to introduce yourself?
I was born in Istanbul in 1968. After completing my primary and secondary education in Istanbul, I entered the Naval Military College. I graduated from the Naval Military College in 1989 and for 10 years, I performed duties in the Naval Forces as ship branch officer, section chief and ship commander. In 1998-2001, I fulfilled my duty as company command in the Naval Military College. After 2001, I began to perform duties in the field of museum studies. In 2001, I was appointed to the Naval Museum Commandership Museum Directorship Department. After this, I was responsible for the project of the foundation of the country’s third naval museum, İskenderun Naval Museum and became the museum’s first Commander in 2009. After 5 years at this position, I returned to Istanbul as the Commander of the Naval Museum.
