🏛️ Travel through time: Istanbul Archaeological Museum
Spring is the best time of the year to visit Turkey. Especially if you want to discover the history of the civilizations that once inhabited these territories. Unstable weather will be a plus. Under the warm, but not hot sun, it is pleasant to walk through the gardens and parks of the palace complexes. And you can hide from the rain and wind in the cozy museum premises.
Why Istanbul?
It is enough to recall the history of this city, which was called the second Rome, to imagine what archaeological pearls could be found on its territory.
Ancient Greek Byzantium, the capital of the Roman Empire Constantinople, and now Istanbul – over many centuries the city has collected a tremendous amount of artifacts from the Persians, Spartans, Galatians, Greeks, Romans and Ottoman Turks.
Let's start getting acquainted. Where can I find the Archaeological Museum?
The Archaeological Museum is located in the historical center of Istanbul in an area called Sultanahmet. Nearby are the most popular historical attractions of the city – the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace. All tourists try to get there.
The archaeological museum is often either left for last, or people don’t have time to go there at all. And in vain! In my opinion, this museum is a must visit. At the same time, devote at least 5-6 hours to it. His collection of artifacts is simply impressive!
Exact address: Osman Hamdi Bey Yokusu Sokak, Gulhane, 34122 Fatih/Istanbul
Price issue
The fee for visiting the museum is in Turkish lira. Ticket prices quoted by travel websites may be out of date. The country has high inflation and prices are often increased.
In March 2023, a ticket cost 100 liras (just over $5) – this is the cost of admission for both an adult and a child. But already in April the price was doubled (about $10). The current price can be found on the museum website.
There are no discounts for children. In any case, my attempts to ask the cashier about the availability of benefits were frustrated by the girl’s reluctance to understand English. She just blinked her eyes and showed the total on the calculator.
Where to begin?
Having bought a ticket and gone through security, you will be taken to the magnificent park of the museum, which in itself is worthy of attention and a detailed examination. Dozens of statues are installed along its paths, for which there was no place under the roof of the museum. One of the most famous is the multi-ton marble head of Medusa the Gorgon.
There are three museum buildings: the Archaeological Museum itself, the Museum of Ancient Oriental Art and the Museum of Tiled Pavilions. I would advise you to start your excursion with the Archaeological Department: the main artifacts of civilizations that left traces in the history of Istanbul are stored there.
The most interesting for me was the exhibition dedicated to the legendary Troy, glorified by Homer in the Iliad. Nine main cultural layers of Troy are known to science. The most ancient ones date back to 2900 – 2500 BC. Each cultural layer in the museum is dedicated to a separate exhibition.
It is very exciting to look at a bowl or jug and realize that the legendary Trojan made it with his own hands four thousand years ago. Probably, even in the Troy Museum itself, located near the excavations of this city in the village of Tevfikiye in northwestern Turkey, there is no such a rich exhibition.