One of Istanbul's most impressive museums, the Military Museum traces the history of the country's conflicts from the conquest of Constantinople in 1453  through to modern warfare. The building used to be the military academy where Atatürk studied from 1899-1905. His classroom has been preserved as it was then.
The museum is also the main location for performances by the Mehter Band, which was first formed in the 14th-century during the reign of Osman I. From then until the 19th century, the band's members were Janissaries, who would accompany the sultan into battle and perform songs about Ottoman hero-ancestors and battle victories. The band had much influence in Europe, and is thought to have inspired both Mozart and Beethoven.
Some of the most striking weapons on display on the ground floor are the curved
daggers (cembiyes) carried at the waist by foot soldiers in the 15th century. These are ornamented with plant, flower and geometric motifs in relief and silver filigree. Other exhibits include 17th-century copper head armour for horses and Ottoman shields made from cane and willow covered in silk thread.
A moving portrayal of trench warfare, commissioned in 1995, is included in the section concerned with the ANZAC landings of 1915 at Chunuk Bair on the Gallipoli peninsula .
Upstairs, the most spectacular of all the exhibits are the tents used by sultans on their campaigns. They are made of silk and wool with embroidered decoration.
Not far from the museum, from the station on Taşkışla Caddesi, you can take the cable car across Maçka Park to Abdi İpekçi Caddesi in Teşvikiye. Also, some of the city's best designer clothes, jewellery, furniture and art shops are to be found in this area. (s1)

Organized with military precision, this museum is a scaled-up version of the Imperial Treasury's Armory collection at Topkapi Palace , focusing on the progress of Turkish military might. The collection itself—including imperial tents of Ottoman sultans and the sword of Süleyman the Magnificent—thrills military historians, but bores everyone else. But the Janissary Band, which puts on a one-hour performance at 15:00 each day the museum is open, can make it worth the trip (and is rated A). Also known as the Ottoman Military Band (Mehter Bandosu), the Janissary Band was the first of its kind—eventually prompting other European monarchs to create similar military bands of their own. The band's primary role was to lead the army into war, but in peacetime, it would also entertain the public with Turkish folk tunes. (Turkish-style rhythms were fashionable in 18th-century Europe, inspiring the likes of Mozart and Beethoven.) Today's costumed concerts—with all the regal pomp of ages past—still evoke the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire.
 Hours, Location: Wed-Sun 9:00-17:00, closed Mon-Tue, last entry one hour before closing; Janissary Band concert—included in museum ticket, Wed-Sun at 15:00 at the Atatiirk auditorium, no performances Mon-Tue; Harbiye district, tel. 0212/232-1698. You can take photos of the Janissary Band, but you'll have to pay extra to photograph museum exhibits .
Getting There: The Military Museum is a huge, walled complex at the end of Cumhuriyet Caddesi (joom-hoo-ree-yeht jah-deh-see), which is the main avenue leading north from Taksim Square into the trendy residential and business districts. You can walk there from Taksim Square in about 15 minutes (you'll see the museum on the right just before the avenue forks, past the multistory military club). Or you can take the Metro from Taksim one stop to Osmanbey, then backtrack a few blocks on Halaskargazi Caddesi to the museum (on your left, just as Halaskargazi runs into Cumhuriyet). (s3)