The Namazgah Bastion is located near the Kilitbahir Castle. It was the strongest defensive installation of the Gallipoli Campaign with a host of artillery batteries hidden within bunkers at the narrowest point of the Dardenelles. The gun batteries installed here were only removed in the 1950’s but in recent years the whole complex has benefitted from a comprehensive renovation. The Turkish Ministry of Culture recognised the bastion as a historic building in 1980 and the museum was founded in 2006.
The museum holds a collection of military equipment and items of everyday use that would have been common during the First World War. The meaning of the word Namazgah means an open air prayer area and if you look across the road from the museum you will notice a ruined building. It is this building that was a place of prayer for the Ottoman soldiers.
The bastion runs right up to the sea with some amazing views of the straits and Çanakkale on the opposite side. Namazgah Bastion should be on everyones places to visit list in Canakkale and it gives you an entirely different perspective of the campaign from the viewpoint of what it would have been like for the Ottomans.