Panorama 25 December Museum

The Panorama 25 December Museum is a museum of heroism, opened in 2020 by the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, that recounts the 1920–1921 Defence of Antep through a giant 120-metre panoramic painting, dioramas and period documents. The "25 December" in its name refers to the day the city was liberated from enemy occupation: on 25 December 1921 the last occupying soldier left Antep. The museum stands out for turning not a single moment of battle but the whole of a months-long resistance into one uninterrupted visual narrative.

This article covers the museum's historic building and the story of its opening, the curatorial logic of the panoramic painting and the dioramas, the highlights worth seeing, and a visitor's guide. You can find the full story of the Defence of Antep on our War of Independence and the Defence of Antep page.

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The Building and Its Opening

The museum occupies the historic Ayntâb Redif Depot building in the Seferpaşa neighbourhood of the Şahinbey district. This structure, which served the Ottoman army as a military depot until 1912, was transferred to the municipality under a protocol signed with the Ministry of National Defence, and the museum was established on this site. Although it is close to Gaziantep Castle, the museum is not inside the castle but in a separate building nearby.

The museum opened to visitors on 25 December 2020, on the anniversary of the city's liberation. The date in its name holds a special place in the city's memory: after a resistance of roughly eleven months, Antep was granted the title "Gazi" by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on 8 February 1921, and the city's name became Gaziantep. Following the Treaty of Ankara of 20 October 1921, the last occupying troops left the city on 25 December 1921.

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Architecture and Curatorial Concept

At the heart of the museum lies a giant panoramic oil painting, 120 metres long and about 13 metres high around its circumference. This work was created by the renowned Russian painter Aleksander Samsonov. The panorama brings to life not one particular moment of the Defence of Antep but the entire course of the siege from beginning to end, staged in a near-360-degree composition that leaves the viewer standing in the middle of the scene.

The three-dimensional dioramas in front of the panoramic painting tie the surface of the picture to a physical foreground, creating a sense of depth and reality; supported by sound effects, this staging carries the visitor into the atmosphere of the siege days. Alongside the panorama and the three dioramas, the museum uses the interactive storytelling tools of contemporary museum practice, with 14 oil paintings and the document cases that accompany them.

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Sections You Must See

The Panoramic Painting

The museum's centrepiece, the 120-metre panorama, presents the Defence of Antep as a continuous, uninterrupted scene. When the visitor stands on the platform at the centre of the painting, they see the different fronts of the besieged city all at once; this staging sets the panorama apart from an ordinary painting and turns it into an immersive experience.

Oil Paintings and Document Cases

The museum holds oil paintings depicting 14 separate events from the defence. Each painting is accompanied by display cases that document the event, including with enemy sources; in this way the museum is conceived not merely as an artistic narrative but as a presentation of history grounded in documents.

Galleries and the Medal of Independence

The museum is made up of galleries devoted to themes such as the city's identity, maps, telegrams and correspondence, foreign documents, and the National Struggle. Among the objects on display are the Medal of Independence awarded to Gaziantep by the Grand National Assembly, belongings of martyrs and veterans, doors and windows taken from buildings that witnessed the defence, and period weapons and clothing. Mehmet Kâmil (Şehit Kâmil), one of the symbolic figures of the resistance who was martyred while still only fourteen years old, is among the heroes the museum commemorates.

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A Visitor's Discovery Guide

• Stand at the centre of the panorama: Take your place on the platform at the middle of the painting and look slowly around you; the work's effect of drawing you into the siege can only be felt fully from this point.
• Follow the painting–document link: Read each oil painting together with the document case beside it; the museum's real strength lies in pairing the artistic narrative with the historical document.
• Listen to the sound design: The sound effects in the diorama and panorama sections complete the atmosphere of the scenes.
• Set the context first: Knowing the chronology of the Defence of Antep before you tour the museum makes the scenes far more meaningful.

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Summary and Cultural Value

The Panorama 25 December Museum makes visible the resistance that earned Antep the title "Gazi" not as a single moment of heroism but as the whole of a months-long struggle. Bringing together the 120-metre panorama, the dioramas and the documents, this staging takes the visitor out of the role of a spectator of history and draws them inside it. For everyone who wishes to understand the city's memory of the National Struggle, this museum — which bears the 25 December date that symbolises the liberation — is an essential stop. You can read about the resistance's connection to the national struggle led by Mustafa Kemal on the Atatürk and Gaziantep page, and explore the city's other museums on the Gaziantep Museums page.

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Frequently Asked Questions