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

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