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Museums to Visit In Turkey
Ankara Anatolian Civilizations Museum
This is one of the most important museums
in Turkey. It is made up of two buildings, Caravansary and Bedesten which were
built around 1464 - 1471. Its valuable
collection encompasses the story of all the
various civilizations established in Asia Minor.
This museum houses artifacts from the
Hittites, Urartians, Assyrian Colonies,
Phrygians, Greeks and Romans.The exhibits
are displayed chronologically beginning with
a collection of stone utensils for daily use
dating from the Paleolithic period and semi-precious jewels from the 6th millennium.
Ankara Anitkabir Museum
This extraordinary mausoleum was built for
Ataturk, the father of Turks and the founder
of modern Turkey, in 1953. It sits on the
top of Anittepe hill, which dominates the city.
The mausoleum is made of marble and is an interesting mixture of ancient and modern architectural styles. The walk up to the
monument is along an avenue lined with
24 stone Hittite lions.
The mausoleum houses a lively collection of memorabilia from Ataturk's life and work,
private library, documents, stamps, coins,
books and cars.
Istanbul Archaeology Museum
The museum was founded at the end of the
19th century. It houses a great collection of
Greek, Roman, Byzantine artifacts. Some of
the highlights of the museum are the
Alexander Sarcophagus, Sarcophagus
of Mourning Women, Lycian Sarcophagus
and a beautiful 1st century statue of Ephebos
of Tralles.
The museum also houses "The Gezer Calendar" the oldest Hebrew inscription known to experts which was discovered near Jerusalem. It was written on a tablet of limestone and is believed
to be an agricultural calendar .
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Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum
Following the conquest of Istanbul, between 1459
and 1465, Mehmet II built the Topkapi Palace as
his principal residence and seat of government.
The site is like a separate town with its own
fortifications. Inside, among courtyards, gardens,
pools and fountains there are both public and
private buildings, chambers, kiosks and pavilions.
Some of the collections housed at the museum include Ceramics, Glass, Silverware, Imperial Costumes, Arms and Armor, Miniatures and Manuscripts and Clocks.
The famous Treasury contains one of the the richest
collections of treasures in the world.
Many gold and silver objects are displayed, most are embellished with precious stones. Don't miss the 86-carat spoonmakers diamond and the Kanjar, 14 inch emerald encrusted dagger.The Famous movie Topkapi starring Melina Mercouri and Peter Ustinov was filmed in here in 1964.
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Istanbul Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art
The museum is housed in the palace built by Suleyman the Magnificent. It was the largest
private palaces built under the Ottomans
and is a very good example of Ottoman
architecture. The museum has a very rich collection of carpets, Korans from all over
the Islamic world and beautiful works of calligraphy featuring imperial decrees and signatures.
There are also collections of glassware, earthenware and utility objects. The
ethnographic section has interesting exhibits
of Nomadic Lifestyle as well as 19th century
Istanbul.
Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum
The museum is situated in St. Peter's Castle
which was built around at 15th C by the
Knights of St. John of Rhodes. The castle
houses interesting artifacts from Prehistoric,
Carian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine,
Medieval and Turkish periods. The Museum
of Underwater Archaeology houses a collection
of artifacts from the wrecks of a number of
ships.
One ship lost off Cape Gelidonya near Finike
c 1200 C BC, was a Syrian trader bringing a
cargo of Ingots from Cyprus. Another lost near Uluburun, Kas in the 13-14 C BC was carrying a cargo of gold medallions, ostrich eggs, a gold
cup, copper and tin ingots. The artifacts were recovered by Turkish and American
archaeologists .
Antakya Mosaic Museum
Antakya (Antioch ad Orontes) is the city where
the culture and traditions of Mesopotamia and Arabia met those of the Greek and Romans.
It was a long-standing rival of Alexandria.
St. Paul and St. Peter both preached and wrote here. Antakya is the place where the followers
of Christ were for the first time ever, named Christians.
The museum houses one of the richest
collections of late Roman and Byzantine
mosaics. Some of the highlights are Narcissus
by a stream, Drunken Dionysus and Orpheus charming beasts with his Lyre.
Konya Mevlana Museum
Konya (Iconuim) is renowned for Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi. Mevlana, born in Balhk Afghanistan in 1207, is one of the greatest
Islamic sufists and the founder of the Mevlevi
Sufi Order. His religion was based on good,
charity, humanity, love and union with God.
For Mevlana, poetry, music and dance were indispensable for the perfection of the soul.
Mevlana's greatest work, Mesnevi, is a
collection of 25,000 poems. The Museum
houses his tomb, a collection of precious manuscripts, antique carpets, musical
instruments and garments. It also includes
the dervishes lodges.
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