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 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.

124 pictures related to this museum

Hattusa, Letter of king Hattusilis III to king Kadashman-Enlil II of Babylonia	Hippodrome, Porphyrius Monument of the Greens	Temple of Jupiter, lion	Troy VIII, head of Zeus
Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 4, Lycian sarcophagus	The Gezer Calendar	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Alexander sarcophagus (18) (Abdalonymus)	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 1, Egyptian-style sarcophagus
Temple of Athena, façade	Ephesus, Archaic temple of Artemis, Ivory statuette of the goddess	Byblos, Statue of Poseidon	Magian venerating the fire
Aššur, Syllabilary with old and new cuneiform signs	Valentinian II	Kanesh, Letter (in an envelope) concerning silver debt	Dascylium, funerary stele
Kanesh, Account of a caravan	Samos, Head of a kouros	Cyzicus, Charioteer	Yemen, Arab warrior
Agrippina the Elder	Dascylium, funerary stele, detail: chariot	Bolu, Hidirsihlar tumulus, Galatian torques	Tenedos, Head of Hermes (archaizing)
Jupiter Heliopolitanus from Palmyra.	Troy VIII, metope	Roman tombstone from Iskenderun. "Be brave! Agatheisa".	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Alexander sarcophagus (09) Hephaestion
Yemenite relief of a woman and a man, seated on dromedaries, meeting at a well	Pella, Tombstone of a Macedonian warrior	Sidon, Bustan esh-Sheikh, Egyptianizing head	Nicaea, Funerary relief of Menas
Samos, Head of a kouros	Perinthus, Relief of Micallus	Byzantium, Forum of Theodosius, Tombstone of Aurelius Suro of I Adiutrix (EDCS-05300172)	Alexander the Great
Samos, Heracles as archer	Alexander the Great	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 4, Lycian sarcophagus, Sphinxes	Golden Gate, statue of a tetrarch
Siloam Inscription	The Temple Inscription	Smyrna, Sappho (Roman copy of a Hellenistic portrait)	Nimrud, Northwest Palace of Aššurnasirpal II, Genie
Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Alexander sarcophagus (11) (Perdiccas?)	Chalcedon, Tombstone of Severius Acceptus of VIII Augusta (EDCS-05300088)	Snake head from the Greek victory monument in Delphi, later brought to Constantinople	Augustus
Anastasius' Passage Law from Abydus	Priene, Aphrodite	Portrait of a man	Arcadius
Troy IX, statuette of Cybele	Adana, Portrait of Hadrian	Temple of Athena, façade	Perinthus, Tombstone of Paulus of III Italica (EDCS-30000413)
Hellenistic funeral stele	Ephesus, Archaic temple of Artemis, Gold falcon	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 7, Greek-style sarcophagus	Sarcophagus from the Persian age
Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 6, Sarcophagus of the satrap	Byzantium, Forum of Theodosius, tombstone of an aquilifer of II Adiutrix (EDCS-05300173)	Roman statue of the Egyptian god Bes from Amathus	Pergamene copy of the Alcamenes herm
Relief of a hero	Hattusa, Deeds of Suppililiuma	Cyzicus, Column drum	Sidon, Funerary stele of Dioscurides
Nicomedia, Sea god	Hippodrome, Kathisma, capital	Saba'a, Relief of Adad-Nirari III	Dascylium, frieze: women on horseback
Early Roman gravestone from Abydus: "Here, the Boule buried Agathe, the daughter of Papos"	Perinthus, Portrait of a man	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 2, Mixed Egyptian-Greek-style sarcophagus	Lysippus' Alexander
Aššur, Door plaques of Šalmaneser III	Nineveh, Stele of Sennacherib	Miletus, statue of Apollo	Mada'in Saleh, Head of a man
Dascylium, funerary stele, detail: dinner scene	Troy VIIb, pottery	Ivriz, king Warpalas and the god Tarhunza	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 1, Sarcophagus of the mourning women
Tombstone of Menios	Aelia Eudocia II	Lion	Coin of the Bosphorus
Hattusa, Hittite laws about personal damage	Hippodrome, Porphyrius Monument of the Blues	Aššur, Altar of Tikulti-Ninurta I	Troy VIII, treaty between Troy and six other towns
Sidon, Funerary stele of Salmamodes	Aššur, Old Palace, Head of a lamassu	Mada'in Saleh, Sundial	Bor, Relief of king Warpalas
Forum of Theodosius, relief with soldiers	Dascylium, funerary stele, detail: chariot	Diocletian	Cyzicus, Kouros
Bor, Relief of king Warpalas, inscription	Ephesus, Archaic temple of Artemis, Ivory lion	Magians with a sacrifice of a sheep and a bull	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Sidon, Alexander Sarcophagus
Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 2, Sarcophagus of Tabnit (1)	Smyrna, relief with a tribute to Euripides	Nicomedia, Sarcophagus	The Assyrian king Naram-Sin
Perinthus, Portrait of Commodus	Roman tombstone from Iskenderun. "Phouseinia, who never caused pain. Farewell".	Nicaea, Statue of Cybele (Roman copy of a Hellenistic original)	Dascylium, funerary stele, inscription
Head of Zeus	Temple of Athena, façade	Sidon, Royal Tombs, Chamber 3, Alexander sarcophagus (02) Alexander	Constantinople, Sea Wall, Royal Gate, Marble decoration
Troy VI, "Minaean" pottery	Sarcophagus with the Dioscuri	Hattusa, Kadesh Treaty	Aššur, Parthian stele of a worshipper
Dascylium, funerary stele	Forum of Theodosius, Orpheus	Alexander the Great	Aššur, Statue of Šalmaneser III