Gaziantep Panorama Museum

It is a museum in the province of Gaziantep that narrates the defense against the British and French occupations during the Turkish War of Independence with various materials. It has the status of a documented private museum supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The Ayntâb Redif Depot, which had served the Ottoman army until 1912 and is located near Gaziantep Castle, was transferred to the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality by protocol signed between the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality and the Ministry of National Defense. The Gaziantep Defense Heroism Panorama and Museum was opened in this building by the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality in 2020.

Sections

In the first section called the City Identity Gallery of the museum, artifacts from the Neolithic Period (Chalcolithic Age) are displayed, which were uncovered during the construction of the museum building. This section also briefly addresses the settlement history of the province of Gaziantep.

In the Map Area section, there is a map on the floor depicting the occupation period. A map concerning the defense prepared by the General Directorate of Mapping is also located in this section.

In the Telegraph Gallery section, documents related to the defense are presented. These documents were obtained from the General Staff Headquarters Archive and the Department of Military History.

In the “Who is Who” Gallery section, items belonging to soldiers and civilians who took part in the defense and equipment related to the war are exhibited.

In the Foreign Documents section, foreign documents concerning the occupation and defense are displayed.

In the Art Gallery section, the persons and events that have become symbols of the defense were painted by the artist Alexander Samsanov.

In the National Struggle Gallery section, all fronts are narrated in order. In addition, the Independence Medal awarded by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to Gaziantep in 2008 is also exhibited.

The defense of Gaziantep is presented in the dioramas and Panorama sections with a 12‑meter by 120‑meter panorama and sound effects. The diorama and the panorama in this section were also created by the artist Alexander Samsanov.

In addition to these works, items belonging to the martyrs and veterans of the Defense of Gaziantep are also exhibited.

A documentary covering all stages up to the opening of the Gaziantep Panorama 25 December Museum was prepared by TRT and broadcast on the TRT Avaz channel.