Visit the Archaeological Museums of Istanbul

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The meeting of East and West has always been wonderful from every aspect, cultural, historical and artistic. And a good way to understand, the encounter but also the oriental culture itself, is to take a tour of the archaeological museums of Istanbul.

Istanbul is the capital of Turkey and These museums, three in total, are in the Eminönü district, very close to the Topkapi Palace and Gülhane Park, tourist destinations in themselves. If you are interested in everything that has to do with this part of the world and you are thinking about traveling, then write down this rich information that will be not only useful but very interesting.

Istanbul Archaeological Museums

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As I said above, it is a complex of three institutions: the Archaeological Museum which is the one that occupies the main building, the Islamic Art Museum and Museum of the Ancient Orient. Between the three they easily house a million objects and a walk through them will give us the best panorama of the history of world civilization. It is a wonder.

These museums born in the nineteenth centuryWe would say the century of museums, that of the need to organize the histories, arts and cultures of the peoples and of the newly formed States. And in this part of the world the idea is added that modernization came hand in hand with westernization So the Ottoman Empire put its north in the museums of the great capitals of Europe and although it was not easy and there were budget problems and delays and abandonments along the way, the project was finally achieved.

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The chosen location was in the vicinity of the Topkapi Palace, the largest residence of the Ottoman sultans for almost four centuries. By decree many provinces of the empire began to send objects and relics and thus it was possible to form a great collection.

The main building was built in the late XNUMXth century in neo Greek style. For its part, the Museo de Oriente Antiguo was born as a museum around 1883 but became a school of arts until it became a museum again in the 30s. Finally, the Museum of Islamic Art works in a much older building, from the XNUMXth century and was once part of the external gardens of the Topkapi Palace.

Let's see what each of them offer us:

Istanbul Archaeological Museum

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Since it opened its doors in 1891 it has grown a lot. Today on the ground floor there are sculptures of antiquity, from the Archaic Era to Roman times. It is here where you will have the pleasure of seeing the Sarcophagus of Alexander or the Sarcophagus of the Weeping Woman and that of Tabnit, from the Royal Necropolis in Sidon. Part is on the right side, part is on the left of that floor.

On the first floor, there are two floors in this building, there is the Treasury, the Library and the Islamic and Non-Islamic Currency Cabinets. In 1998, in the new part, a section known as Cultures around Istanbul. Here are objects from different eras that have been found in excavations and burial mounds. There are also subsections dedicated to Thrace, Brittany, and Byzantium. And if you go with children there is even a Children's Museum.

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On the first floor there is also the Istanbul Collection who sees the city through the ages. On the second floor you will see the Anatolia and Troy Collection through the ages and on the third floor the Cultures Around Anatolia Collection: Artifacts from Syria, Palestine and Cyprus.

Museum of the Ancient Orient

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In this museum you will see objects from pre-Greek Anatolia and also from Mesopotamia and pre-Islamic Egypt and the Arabian peninsula. They are objects that were found in excavations that were made between the end of the XNUMXth century and the First World War and were brought to Istanbul, capital of the then Ottoman Empire, which at that time ruled over those lands.

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This museum It is organized into sections: the Egyptian Collection, the Mesopotamia Collection, the Anatolian Collection, the Urartu Collection, the Cuneiform Documents Collection and the Pre-Islamic Arabic Art. In turn, they are all organized according to regions and most are presented in historical order.

Some treasures? There like 75 thousand cuneiform documents in the Archive of Tablets and a stela of the Akkadian king Naram-Suen, for example, but I was left with the oldest love poem in the world, from the XNUMXth century BC which starts like this: boyfriend, dear to my heart, your beauty is heavenly, sweet honey. Leon, dear to my heart, celestial is your beauty, sweet honey…. and so on.

Islamic Art Museum

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The objects that make up its collections come from the Seljik and Ottoman times, that is, from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries.. They were incorporated into archaeological museums because the old building that housed them was very close. These objects come from excavations, purchases, donations and even confiscations. It is interesting and there are some two thousand objects on display.

Practical information for visiting the museums

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  • The Istanbul Archaeological Museums are located at Osman Hambdi Bey Yokusu Sk, 34122, Sultanahmet, Fatih. You can get there by tram from Gülhane and Kabatas-Bagcilar stations. If you arrive from Anatolia you can take the tram from the Kadiköy-Eminönü and Üskürdar-Einönü ferry lines. From Istanbul you can also arrive by public and private buses and then arrive by tram. It is convenient to use public transport because the area for private vehicle stations is very small.
  • The museum they open from 9 in the morning to 7 in the afternoon and tickets are on sale from 9 in the morning until 6 in the afternoon. Open every day.
  • The ticket costs 20 TL and there is a Museum Pass that allows you to visit the cultural and historical treasures of the city: it lasts 5 days and costs 85 TL. It ensures you free entry to the main attractions, Hagia Sofia, Hagia Irene, Topkapi Palace and its Harem, the Archaeological Museums and many more.

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