Location
Aksaray - Kumkapı - Sirkeci - Beyazıt - S.Ahmet
Category
Credit Card
No
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 Archeological Museum Detailed Info
This is in close vicinity of Topkapi Palace, in
the direction of Gulhane park entrance. There are many collections
in the museum. From Egyptian and Assyrian empires to Roman and Byzantine
statues, marvellous sarchophagi, and pieces of Temples. The rich
collection of ancient art are brought from anicent sites all over
Anatolia (Turkey).
This award-winning museum has been undergoing renovation throughout the past decade, winning the Council of Europe’s Museum Award in 1993. The carefully chosen pieces are displayed with great artistic sensitivity, particularly in the largest building, with the placement, lighting, and curator notes enhancing the museum-goer’s experience. Within the boundaries of modern Turkey and the former Ottoman Empire are archaeological sites from many of the world’s great cultures, including Thracian, Bithynian, Byzantine, Egyptian, Hittite, and Mesopotamian. It’s worth remembering, for example, that the site of ancient Troy is actually located in modern Turkey rather than Greece. This happy circumstance places Turkish archaeologists in a unique position to explore the past.
The first building, the Museum of the Ancient Orient, features an impressive display of antiquities from the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Hittite cultures. One of the standouts is a large glazed brick frieze of lions and bulls set against a blue background from Babylon’s Ishtar Gate. Less impressive looking, but of great historical importance, is the Treaty of Kadesh, a tablet dating from 1269 BC that contains the world’s first peace treaty.
The building adjacent to the Museum of the Ancient Orient houses a collection of Turkish tiles and ceramics, with some lovely examples of Iznik tiles. The pride of the collection is the gorgeous blue tiled mihrab from the city of Karaman in southeast Turkey.
The largest building, a long neoclassical affair with four tall columns set along the entrance, houses the Archaeology Museum. Upon entering the museum, the visitor is greeted by an appealingly grotesque statue of Bes, an Egyptian dwarf god believed to guard against evil spirits. From the entrance, the visitor makes a choice to go right, left, or up. If pressed for time, go left to view the magnificent marble tombs brought from Sidon by Osman Hamdi Bey, a 19th century Renaissance man who was most responsible for the museum’s development.
The museum is at its best when it first opens at 9:30 a.m., when there are few visitors and the noisy groups of schoolchildren who plague many of Istanbul’s museums have not yet made their appearance. The entrance fee is approximately $3. Open between 9.30 AM -5 PM everyday except Monday. Topkapı Palace, the first Court.
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