Description of the attraction
Istanbul Archaeological Museum is one of the largest museums in the world. It displays about a million exhibits and works belonging to cultures of different times. The collection of the museum contains works belonging to civilizations that existed from Africa to the Balkans, Anatolia and the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan and the Ottoman Empire.
Istanbul Archaeological Museum is located in three buildings, which are located in Topkapi Palace in the territory of the First Courtyard. It also includes the Museum of Turkish Ceramics and the Museum of the Ancient East. The listed museums were opened in 1891 and owe their existence to Osman Hamdi Bey, a Turkish artist, diplomat of the 19th century, archaeologist and curator of the museum. It was Osman who proposed to build a new museum here and already in 1891 the first part of the new building was opened. The plan was drawn by the architect Alexander Vallauri, of French-Turkish origin, modeled on the sarcophagus called "Weeping Woman" in Western neoclassical design. The third part of the building was completed in 1908. Osman Hamdi is said to have donated his annual earnings to the construction of the museum. After that, in 1884, a ban was introduced on the export of archaeological monuments abroad by a new provision included in the law on relics.
In 1935, the Museum became part of the Museum of the Ancient East, which is located in the building of the School of Fine Arts. Later, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art was added to it. Since 1953 it has been housed in the Tiled Pavilion. It was built in 1472 to house the harem of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror, one of the oldest architectural monuments of the Ottoman Empire.
Since 1991, the works of the hall of antique sculptures and sarcophagi of the archaeological museum have been re-exhibited in this complex complex, which consists of the main building of the Archaeological Museum, a museum of ancient Eastern works, a tiled museum-pavilion, cabinets with chasing, an archive of tablets, laboratories, libraries and others. all kinds of extensions. One of the most valuable collections of the museum are sarcophagi from Sidon (ancient Syria). They are displayed in their original form, but in a slightly more modern atmosphere. These sarcophagi represent a variety of architectural styles that evolved under the influence of the cultures of Phenicia and Egypt. One of the most famous among the exhibits is the sarcophagus of Alexander, found by archaeologists in 1887 and covered with beautiful carvings depicting battles and scenes from the life of what was initially believed to be Alexander the Great himself. However, later it was proved that the sarcophagus belonged to Abdalonimos - the Sidonian king. In the same place, in the necropolis of Sidon, a well-preserved Sarcophagus of the Weeping Woman was discovered with intricately carved panels depicting a woman in mourning. There are also other sarcophagi from the city of Sidon, for example, Satrap - the king of Tabnit. In addition, the museum displays a statue of a lion, which was in the tombstone of the ruler of Mavsol - the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. The Archaeological Museum has preserved fragments of statues from ancient times brought here from the Pergamon Temple of Zeus, objects discovered during excavations in Troy and details of the temple of Athena from the city of Assos.
The museum contains a large chronological collection of the remains of the material culture of the ancient inhabitants found in the area. These exhibits shed light on the history and origins of Istanbul. At the entrance to the museum there is a statue of a lion, which was found in the mausoleum of Halikarnassus.
The museum housed an exhibition entitled “Istanbul Through the Ages” - a rich and well-preserved exposition was awarded the Council of Europe Prize in 1993. The exhibition also featured a bell from the 14th century. from the Tower of Galata, and part of the serpentine Column of the Hippodrome - the restored head of the serpent. On the two lower levels of the exposition there were exhibits dedicated to the centuries-old evolution of Anatolia and Troy. Sculptures from Palestine, Cyprus and Syria were also presented here. The Museum of the Ancient East has recently been renovated and houses an especially rich collection of artifacts that once belonged to early civilizations - Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt and the entire Arab continent. Pre-Islamic idols and deities, ancient Aramaic inscriptions and a small collection of Egyptian antiquities, which were brought here from the courtyard of the Al-Ula temple, were exhibited here.
In the museum, you can still contemplate the Obelisk of Adad-Nirari the Third, which has wedge-shaped inscriptions. Of particular value is a series of multi-colored mosaic panels depicting dragons with snake heads and bulls - elements of the monumental gate of Ishtar, built during the reign of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. The oldest exhibits in the museum date back to the 13th century BC. These include the sphinx from the Yarkapi gate in Hattusas and 2 of the 3 known tablets of the oldest peace treaty (Treaty of Kadesh), which Ramses II and Hattusili III signed between themselves in the 13th century BC.
Of particular interest are historical documents made on cuneiform tablets, of which there are more than seventy-five pieces in the museum. The collection includes a limestone tablet with inscriptions 11, 1x7, 2 cm in size, which was found in 1908, created in the 10th century. BC. It was named the calendar from Gezer. The largest exhibit is the Siloam inscription, which is a stone measuring 1, 32x0, 21 meters, on which the story of the construction of a tunnel that connected the source of Gion and the Siloam reservoir in the VIII century BC is applied.
