Istanbul, Arkeoloji Müzesi

Q636978

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 portrait 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.

125 pictures related to this museum

Pergamon, Portrait of Alexander the Great	Sarcophagus from the Persian age	Aššur, Altar of Tikulti-Ninurta I	Kanesh, Account of a caravan
Perinthus, Portrait of a man	Dascylium, Short funerary stele	Constantinople, Tombstone of Menios	Yemenite relief of a woman and a man, seated on dromedaries, meeting at a well
Yemen, Arab warrior	Adana, Portrait of Hadrian	Samos, Heracles as archer	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 2, Mixed Egyptian-Greek-style sarcophagus
Halicarnassus, Mausoleum, Lion	Roman statue of the Egyptian god Bes from Amathus	Alexander the Great	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 6, Sarcophagus of the satrap
Dascylium, Long funerary stele, Inscription	Constantinople, Forum of Theodosius, Orpheus	Perinthus, Portrait of Commodus	Assos, Temple of Athena, Façade
Troy VIII, Metope	Troy VIII, Head of Zeus	Constantinople, Forum of Theodosius, Arcadius	Pergamon, Portrait of Augustus
Samos, Head of a kouros	Dascylium, Long funerary stele, detail: chariot	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Alexander sarcophagus (11) (Perdiccas?)	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 1, Egyptian-style sarcophagus
Nineveh, Stele of Sennacherib	Pergamon, Relief of a hero	Pella, Tombstone of a Macedonian warrior	Nicomedia, Sea god
Hippodrome, Porphyrius Monument of the Greens	Hellenistic funeral stele	Dascylium, Long funerary stele	Hippodrome, Porphyrius Monument of the Blues
Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Alexander sarcophagus (02) Alexander	Snake head from the Greek victory monument in Delphi, later brought to Constantinople	Alexandria near Issus, Roman tombstone	Troy VIII, Treaty between Troy and six other towns
Nicomedia, Sarcophagus	Nimrud, Northwest Palace of Aššurnasirpal II, Genie	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 4, Lycian sarcophagus, Sphinxes	Nicaea, Funerary relief of Menas
Ivriz, Relief of king Warpalas and the god Tarhunza	Hippodrome, Kathisma, capital	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 1, Sarcophagus of the mourning women	Palmyra, Tombstone of a man
Aelia Eudocia II	Alexandria near Issus, Roman tombstone	Abydus, Roman tombstone	Constantinople, Forum of Theodosius, Relief with soldiers
Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Alexander sarcophagus (09) Hephaestion	Didyma, Head of Zeus	Saba'a, Relief of Adad-Nirari III	The Gezer Calendar
Perinthus, Tombstone of Paulus of III Italica	Sidon, Funerary stele of Salmamodes	Kallipolis, Relief of Cybele	Samos, Head of a kouros
Bolu, Hidirsihlar tumulus, Galatian torques	Constantinople, Sea Wall, Royal Gate, Marble decoration	Mada'in Saleh, Sundial	Constantinople, Forum of Theodosius, Tombstone of an aquilifer of II Adiutrix
Alexander the Great	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 4, Lycian sarcophagus	Sidon, Bustan esh-Sheikh, Egyptianizing head	Priene, Aphrodite
Ephesus, Archaic temple of Artemis, Ivory figurine of the goddess	Baalbek, Temple of Jupiter, Lion	Aphrodisias, Valentinian II	Hattusa, Letter of king Hattusilis III to king Kadashman-Enlil II of Babylonia
Mada'in Saleh, Head of a man	Byblos, Statue of Poseidon	Smyrna, Relief with a tribute to Euripides	Coin of the Bosphorus
Aššur, Syllabilary with old and new cuneiform signs	Ephesus, Archaic temple of Artemis, Gold falcon	Miletus, Statue of Apollo	Perinthus, Relief of Micallus
Palmyra, Jupiter Heliopolitanus	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 7, Greek-style sarcophagus	Abydus, Anastasius' passage law	Tenedos, Head of Hermes (archaizing)
Hattusa, Deeds of Šuppililiuma	Nicomedia, Portrait of Diocletian	Dascylium, Relief of two Magians sacrificing a sheep and a bull	Sidon, Funerary stele of Dioscurides
Cyzicus, Column drum	Hattusa, Hittite laws about personal damage	Lysippus' Alexander	Dascylium, Frieze of women on horseback
Amida, Relief of Naram-Sin	Dascylium, Short funerary stele: chariot: dinner scene	Aššur, Parthian stele of a worshipper	Troy VIIb, Pottery
Dascylium, Short funerary stele: chariot	Aššur, Old Palace, Head of a lamassu	Nicaea, Statue of Cybele (Roman copy of a Hellenistic original)	Bor, Relief of king Warpalas
Cyzicus, Charioteer	Troy IX, Figurine of Cybele	Jerusalem, Siloam Inscription	Seleucia in Pieria, Sarcophagus with the Dioscuri
Troy VI, "Minaean" pottery	Bor, Relief of king Warpalas, inscription	Smyrna, Sappho (Roman copy of a Hellenistic portrait)	Constantinople, Forum of Theodosius, Tombstone of Aurelius Suro of I Adiutrix
Kanesh, Letter (in an envelope) concerning silver debt	Constantinople, Golden Gate, statue of a tetrarch	Aššur, Door plaques of Šalmaneser III	Chalcedon, Tombstone of Severius Acceptus of VIII Augusta
Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 2, Sarcophagus of Tabnit	Pergamon, Portrait of Agrippina Maior	Hattusa, Kadesh Treaty	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Sidon, Alexander Sarcophagus
Assos, Temple of Athena, Façade	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Alexander sarcophagus (18) (Abdalonymus)	Pergamene copy of the Alcamenes herm	Cyzicus, Kouros
Ephesus, Archaic temple of Artemis, Ivory lion	Dascylium, Relief of a Magian venerating the fire	Aššur, Statue of Šalmaneser III	Assos, Temple of Athena, Façade
Jerusalem, Temple Inscription