Guide
The Piri Reis Marine Museum is a teaching collection first and a visitor attraction second, which is why it sits inside the Faculty of Marine Sciences and Technology at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University rather than in the town. It is named after Piri Reis, the navigator born at Gelibolu. The university set it up to make the natural and cultural values of the sea known, to contribute to informing people about the protection of the seas, and to build public interest and sensitivity towards them.
The cases are zoological. More than a hundred bony and cartilaginous fish are shown, along with some seven hundred specimens of invertebrates; among the marine reptiles there is a Mediterranean turtle, and among the mammals the skeletons of two dolphins and of a Mediterranean monk seal. A herbarium collection of marine algae is displayed as well. A separate section shows the different colours and textures the sea produces, through exotic molluscs obtained from the Pacific and the Atlantic. The material carries reference values and can be used for scientific work, not only looked at.
The museum opened at the end of 2004 and was presented with a renewed face at the end of 2014. In 2016 it applied to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for the status of private museum, and after the necessary correspondence it received the title of ÇOMÜ "Piri Reis" Private Marine Museum. It puts the number of people who have come through since it opened — students of the university, residents of Çanakkale, and visitors from across Türkiye and abroad — at around fifteen thousand.
Entry is charged, by a decision of the university senate. Visits are possible on any day within working hours, provided an appointment has been made.
