Canbulat Museum

When the city of Mağusa was first founded by the Latins in the 1300s, the southeast corner was planned as a shipyard. A bastion was built here to secure the entrance from the sea, and it was called the Arsenal bastion due to its function. Over time, the harbor and therefore the shipyard filled up, and the entrance to the interior was closed. The Venetians strengthened the walls and made the bastions round against attacks, and filled the gap between the walls by building a second wall. Thus, the city was transformed into a complete defensive fortress. Since his great benefits were seen in the conquest of Lefkoşa by the Ottomans, Canbulat Pasha, the governor of Kilis, who was reassigned to the Ottoman army that besieged Mağusa in 1570, together with İskender Pasha and Deniz Pasha, became the subject of legends with the heroism he showed in taking the bastion, and after the conquest, the bastion was given its name. According to the heroic story, Canbulat Pasha was martyred after he valiantly attacked the revolving wheel set up by the Venetians to prevent entry to the city with his horse while fighting to capture the Arsenal Bastion during the siege of Famagusta by the Ottomans, rendering it inoperable. In the 20th century, the corridor inside the bastion was converted into a museum, and a tomb and a relief were placed in his name. During the British rule, the city wall next to the bastion was opened and the entrance to the city from here was called the Canbulat Gate.

TİKA's Contributions

Within the scope of the project carried out in 2024, water repellent and protective chemicals were sprayed on the stone surfaces of the museum to protect them from moisture and corrosion. The reinforced concrete roof structure on the bastion was renovated, the doors and windows of the roof structure and the railings facing the gallery were renewed. In addition, the Canbulat Pasha relief was repaired and the staircase in front was renovated. The main entrance door of the museum was repaired, the inner aluminum door was removed and a new door was made in its place. Within the scope of the next stage, the exhibition arrangement project, all of the display cases and display units where the existing works are placed will be renewed, the counter at the entrance will be replaced, lighting and electrical works will be carried out and the coffin cover of Canbulat Pasha, the conqueror of Famagusta, will be renewed.