Istanbul Archaeology Museums

Istanbul Archaeology Museum, located on Osman Hamdi Bey ramp, rising to Topkapi Palace Museum from the right of entrance of Gulhane Park, are composed of three museums as Archaelogy Museum, Old Eastern Arts Museum and Enameled Kiosk Museum. It is one of the biggest museums of the world. It accomodates more than one million arts. Museum collections have the arts, including cultural values of various civiliztions, containing a large geography from Balkans, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Iraq to Afghanistan.

Archaeology Museums in Istanbul

The museum consists of two buildings, the main building (old structure) and the annex (new structure). The architect Aleksandre Vallaury constructed the main building at the end of the 19th century on behalf of Osman Hamdi, and the construction of the Imperial Museum was completed in three stages in 1891, 1902 and 1908. The section containing the Sayda sarcophaguses was opened to the public on 13 June 1891 under the name of “Sarcophagus Museum”. This building is the first Turkish museum.

The building has two floors and its outer front is made by being inspired by Crying Women Sarcophagus. It is one of the most beautiful examples of neoclassical structures in Istanbul. Alexander Sarcophagus Lycia Sarcophagus, Tabnit Sarcophagus, located in Sayda King Tombs; Sidamara Sarcophagus, Erosus Sarcophagus, borrowed from other ancient cities and regions and other sarcophaguses and also architectural elements, sculptures and reliefs, tombstones, altars, mosaics, belonging to various temples are exhibited in a chronological order from Archaic age to the end of Byzantine period in the ground floor of the main building. Some of the important works of art are the head of Alexander the Great, Marsyas, sculptures of the goddesses Tykhe, Nymphe, Ephebos and busts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the Empress Faustina. On the second floor there are small pieces of stone, pots and earthenware statuettes.

There is also a treasury department and non-Islamic and Islamic coin cabinets containing about 800.000 coins, stamps, tokens, medals and coin casts; and a rich library containing about 70.000 books on this floor. The annex is located south-east of the main building. It consists of six floors.There are old art depots in the basement of the second floor.On the ground floor there is a children’s museum and also some architectural structures are exhibited here.Thracian, Bithinian, Byzantine (surrounding cultures of Istanbul) works are exhibited under this ground floor.Works of Istanbul For Ages are exhibited on the 1st floor, works of Anatolia and Troia For Ages are exhibited on the 2nd floor and works of different periods belonging to Anatolia and Surrounding Cultures (Cyprus, Syria, Palestine) are exhibited on the 3rd floor.

Old Eastern Arts

Mr. Osman Hamdi gets Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi-i (Fine Arts Academy) built in 1883 and the structure has two floors. It is arranged as a museum between 1917-1919 and 1932-1935 years. Museum is closed for public visits in 1963 and its internal locations are modernised and it is opened for public visits again in 1974. Arabian works before Islam, Egyptian works, Mesopotamian works, Anatolian works are exhibited in the upper floors of the museum. Tablet of Kasesh Peace and Friendship Agreement, which was made between Hittites and Egyptians in 1219 B.C. and is the first “peace and friendship” agreement in history, is present in this museum. There is a rich “tablet archive” consisting of about 75000 cuneiform tablets in the museum. The ground floor of the museum is used as an old art depot and office.

Enameled Kiosk Museum

Mehmet the Conqueror gets Enamelled Kiosk building, which is one of the oldest civil architecture models in Istanbul, constructed in 1472. It is used as Müze-i Hümayun between 1875-1891 years. It is opened for public visits under the name of Fatih Museum, which exhibits Turkish and Islamic art in 1953 due to the 500th anniversary of Istanbul conquest. It is transferred to Istanbul Archaeology Museum in 1981. Entrance front of the kiosk, which is constructed in a sloping land, is constructed with single floor and its black front is constructed with two floors. there is marmoreal cloister, composed of 14 columns in the entrance. It is entered into the kiosk through a shed shaped portal, covered with mosaic tiles. The interior of the kiosk is composed of a central salon and six lateral rooms. Various tiles and ceramics of Seljuk and Ottoman periods are exhibited in the kiosk. The oil lamps and blue and white tiles made in İznik are among the most valuable pieces in the museum. In addition, ceramics from Küahya and Çanakkale make up a significant part of the museum’s tile collection. There are about 2000 works in the salons and depots of the Enamel Kiosk Museum.