Istanbul, Arkeoloji Müzesi

What did I expect when I decided to visit the Istanbul Archaeological Museum? I only had some vague notions about the collection, but nothing more. I knew that the famous Alexander sarcophagus and a well-known bust of Diocletian were there; the oldest Jewish calendar, from Gezer, belonged to the collection, and a lot of finds from Troy. And of course there was the head of one of the serpents of a column from the ancient Constantinople hippodrome – a column that once stood in Delphi to commemorate the Greek victory in the Persian War (below).

What I really wanted to photograph was an inscription found on the Temple Mount, which says that pagans were to be killed when they came within a sacred court (photo to the left). It proves that the Jewish Temple was indeed on the temple mount, something that no one who is compos mentis will deny, but has been challenged by the former great-mufti of Jerusalem, Ekrima Sa’id Sabri. Unfortunately, this insane idea -which does not deserve to be dignified by a refutation- is gaining currency, and I have already encountered it in a book by a serious ancient historian (if someone who is unable to recognize Intifada propaganda can be called a serious historian).

One of my travel compagnons had told that the museum was bigger than the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, but I had not expected that a visit to the Istanbul museum takes at least six hours. You can visit the oriental department (among the finds is the Kadesh treaty), which is in a separate building next to the entrance. In the main building, you will find on the ground floor a very large collection of Anatolian sarcophagi, the royal cemetery of Sidon (includes the Alexander sarcophagus), and a department of Greek art. Behind this is a three-storey building that contains Thracian and Bithynian art, a collection of finds from Constantinople (which includes the chain that once was in the Golden Horn), artifacts from Troy, and a collection of art from Cyprus and Palestine.

The department of Greek art, where you can see the splendid bust of Diocletian on the photo to the left, has reasonable dimensions – the other parts are immodestly big, and I wondered which museum had the largest archaeological collection: Istanbul or the Paris Louvre. I had not expected a museum of these dimensions, and was exhausted after visiting it three times in three days. And every object is splendid. It is, to paraphrase Truman Capote, like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.

Most departments of the museum close at five o’ clock, but the main building closes at seven. In the garden, between the ancient columns, tombstones, and sarcophagi, you can buy coffee, tea, and soft drinks. You will probably need them to survive this big, beautiful museum.

This museum was visited in 2008, 2012.

99 pictures related to this museum

Heracles as archer (Samos)	Early Roman gravestone from Abydus: "Here, the Boule buried Agathe, the daughter of Papos"	Troy IX, statuette of Cybele	Troy VIIb, pottery
Sidon, Alexander Sarcophagus	Dascylium, funerary stele, detail: chariot	Forum of Theodosius, relief with soldiers	Ivriz, king Warpalas and the god Tarhunza
Tombstone of Paulus, from Perinthus, third century	Snake head from the Greek victory monument in Delphi, later brought to Constantinople	Aelia Eudocia II	Temple of Jupiter, lion
Nineveh, Stele of Sennacherib	Lysippus' Alexander	Anastasius' Passage Law from Abydus	Temple of Athena, façade
Temple of Athena, façade	Bor, Relief of king Warpalas	Augustus	Aquilifer of I Adiutrix
Hippodrome, Porphyrius Monument of the Blues	Perinthus, Relief of Micallus	Dascylium, funerary stele, detail: chariot	Hippodrome, Kathisma, capital
Valentinian II	Alexander the Great	Perinthus, Portrait of a man	Hippodrome, Porphyrius Monument of the Greens
Troy VI, "Minaean" pottery	Aššur, Altar of Tikulti-Ninurta I	Temple of Athena, façade	Sarcophagus with the Dioscuri
Nicomedia, Sea god	Tombstone of Menios	Perinthus, Portrait of Commodus	Jupiter Heliopolitanus from Palmyra.
Nimrud, Northwest Palace of Aššurnasirpal II, Genie	Roman tombstone from Iskenderun. "Be brave! Agatheisa".	Forum of Theodosius, Orpheus	Troy VIII, head of Zeus
Smyrna, relief with a tribute to Euripides	Troy VIII, metope	Roman tombstone from Iskenderun. "Phouseinia, who never caused pain. Farewell".	Hattusa, Kadesh Treaty
Siloam Inscription	Alexander on the Alexander sarcophagus	Aššur, Door plaques of Šalmaneser III	Smyrna, Sappho (Roman copy of a Hellenistic portrait)
Pergamene copy of the Alcamenes herm	Adad-Nirari III	Alexander the Great	Portrait of a man
Hattusa, Letter of king Hattusilis III to king Kadashman-Enlil II of Babylonia	Syllabilary with old and new cuneiform signs	Arcadius	Head of Zeus
Relief of a hero	Tombstone of Severius Acceptus of VIII Augusta (AE 1934, 125)	Detail of the Alexander sarcophagus, probably Hephaestion	Dascylium, funerary stele, detail: dinner scene
The Assyrian king Naram-Sin	Bor, Relief of king Warpalas, inscription	Aššur, Parthian stele of a worshipper	Cyzicus, Charioteer
Adana, bust of Hadrian.	Hattusa, Deeds of Suppililiuma	Dascylium, funerary stele	Miletus, statue of Apollo
Golden Gate, statue of a tetrarch	Dascylium, funerary stele, inscription	Aššur, Old Palace, Head of a lamassu	Hattusa, Hittite laws about personal damage
Marble decoration of the Royal Gate	Hellenistic funeral stele	Agrippina the Elder	The Temple Inscription
Detail of the Alexander sarcophagus, perhaps Perdiccas	Roman statue of the Egyptian god Bes from Amathous	Alexander the Great	Tombstone of a soldier of I Adiutrix
Tenedos, archaising bust of Hermes	Tombstone of a Macedonian warrior	Diocletian	Magians with a sacrifice of a sheep and a bull
Cyzicus, Kouros	Dascylium, funerary stele	Kanesh, Account of a caravan	Detail of the Alexander sarcophagus, probably Abdalonymus of Sidon
Šalmaneser III, statue from Aššur	Magian venerating the fire	The Gezer Calendar	Sarcophagus from the Persian age
Kanesh, Letter (in an envelope) concerning silver debt	Coin of the Bosphorus	Dascylium, frieze: women on horseback	Troy VIII, treaty between Troy and six other towns
Nicomedia, Sarcophagus	Cyzicus, Column drum	Lion