Atatürk's boat transformed into museum in country’s west

ÇANAKKALE

The boat used by modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as a sightseeing boat has been restored and opened to visitors at the Naval Museum in the western province of Çanakkale.

The "M/G Acar," once used to transport Atatürk from the famous Savarona Yacht, known as Atatürk's yacht, to the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, is one of the most fascinating places to visit at the Çanakkale Naval Museum.

The salon where Atatürk dined and the cabin where he rested are on exhibition.

Built in Germany in 1936-1937, the boat was taken into the inventory of the Çanakkale Naval Museum in 2017 after being used in various diplomatic missions in the Bosphorus.

After nearly nine months of effort, the 27.5-meter-long, 5-meter-wide and 65-ton boat was placed on a pedestal and has been opened to visitors as as a museum with a ceremony in April 2018 following the completion of landscaping works.

"When Atatürk was convalescing in the Savarona in his last days, he was transferred to the Dolmabahçe Palace on the Acar boat. In other words, this ship is actually Atatürk's last connection with the sea, so it is extremely valuable to us," Colonel Serhan Aras, one of the directors of the Çanakkale Maritime Museum, said.

After Atatürk's death, the M/G Acar Boat served as an official motorboat and after its decommissioning, it was given to the Naval War College. It was repaired and restored in 2000. On July 25, 2001, it was launched by Semra Sezer, the wife of 10th President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, in a ceremony held at the Istanbul Shipyard Command.

The ship, which was transferred to Çanakkale by sea on June 15, 2017, was lifted by a land crane in front of Çanakkale Naval Museum Command on July 03, 2017, and placed on the pedestal, where it is currently located.