Panorama December 25 Museum

After completing our spice shopping, we found a courier company to ship the boxes to those who had placed orders with us. Then, it was time for more sightseeing.

The Turkish War of Independence (May 1919-July 1923) was waged to rid the country of foreign forces that occupied parts of the Ottoman Empire following its defeat in WWI. At the conclusion of this war the Republic of Turkey was born.

The Istiklal Madalyası (Independence Medal), awarded to those who went above and beyond the call of duty during the war, was also awarded to four cities for their overall valiant efforts in ridding the country of the enemy. Gaziantep, which managed to overthrow the French forces that had occupied the city, is one of those cities. Such efforts were further recognized by awarding the city the title of Gazi (Veteran) to the city that used to simply be known as Antep.

The story of the occupation and overthrow of the enemy, and the heroism of the people, is told at the Panorama December 25 Museum. There is an overwhelming amount of information to digest at this museum, which is operated by the municipality. Oversized paintings and an amazing panorama complete with 3D details help to bring the story alive.

We spent over an hour here, focusing our attention on the pictorials as attempting to read even a small portion of the written material would have kept us there not just for hours, but for days. I’d highly recommend the museum … with the caveat that a basic interest and understanding of the general story of the Turkish Independence War is essential to doing even a tiny bit of justice to the museum.

By the time we left the museum and walked back to our hotel, we were all ready to call it a day as our feet were protesting all the walking we did today. As none of us was hungry after the filling meal we had for lunch, we just called it quits to rest up for what promises to be another busy day tomorrow.Read more