In the Harbiye district of Istanbul, close to Taksim Square, the Istanbul War Museum is located in the historical building of the former Ottoman Imperial Military Academy. It is considered the second largest military museum in the world. The museum collection includes more than 9 thousand exhibits, which are located in 22 exhibition halls. Here is a huge collection of firearms of the 16th-20th centuries. , cold and defensive weapons from different eras and different countries are widely represented. Part of the exhibitions is devoted to the history of wars in which Turkey took part. The most interesting exhibits of the collection are weapons, military tents, ammunition used during the Ottoman Empire, flags, banners, part of a giant chain, with which the Byzantines blocked the entrance to the Golden Horn in 1453 in a futile attempt to defend against an attack by the Ottomans. There is also a section in memory of Ataturk, who once studied in this building of the military academy. However, the real highlight of the museum, for the sake of which one should visit it, is the live performance of the Janissaries - the Ottoman military brass band Mehter. Every day for an hour in the concert hall of the museum, this orchestra arranges whole performances with original musical accompaniment.