Seddülbahir Fortress, a historic Ottoman-era stronghold on Türkiye’s Gallipoli Peninsula in the northwestern province of Çanakkale, has earned a nomination for the European Museum of the Year Award 2026 (EMYA), Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced.
In a statement shared on social media, Ersoy said the nomination places Seddülbahir Fortress “on the European stage,” describing it as one of the continent’s most prestigious museum programs.
He said the site now stands out as a cultural venue that brings historical memory together with contemporary museum practices.
Restored by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the fortress reopened to visitors on March 18, 2023, the anniversary of the Gallipoli naval victory, following an extensive conservation and museology project.
Originally commissioned in the 17th century by Hatice Turhan Sultan, the mother of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV, the fortress occupies a strategically significant position in the early stages of the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I, where some of the first naval engagements and casualties occurred.
Beyond the EMYA 2026 nomination, the historic fortress has received several major international awards for its restoration and design approach.
Its project won an award at the International Architecture Awards 2025, one of the most prominent global platforms in architecture.
It was also selected among 25 projects out of 167 at the International Domus Restoration and Conservation Awards, highlighting its approach to heritage preservation.
Solidifying its reputation, the project also earned the "Heritage” crown from Dezeen, one of the world’s most widely followed architecture and design publications.
Seddülbahir Fortress was restored and reintroduced as an open-air museum under the coordination of the historic site directorate in Gallipoli, with the aim of serving as a model for contemporary heritage presentation.
One of the most distinctive elements of the project is the reconstruction of Bab-ı Kebir, the main gate of the fortress, which was destroyed during the initial bombardments of World War I.
Instead of a conventional reconstruction, architects designed a large-scale wooden installation that visually and spatially evokes the original structure without imitating it directly.
Crafted from locally sourced materials, the wooden structures — including the Bab-ı Kebir and the domed exhibition hall — were masterfully designed to weather the rugged coastal climate of the peninsula.
Architects, engineers and archaeologists worked in collaboration to align the restoration with global conservation benchmarks.
