Istanbul Archaeology Museums

Istanbul Archaeology Museums is an incredible museum complex of 3 buildings that houses archaeological collections of more than 1 million items. It contains collections of items dating back thousands of years from ancient Mesopotamia, pre-Islamic Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula.

This expansive museum provides an amazing perspective to the archaeological finds of the Ottoman empire. Divided into three separate museums, the exhibitions are really captivating. As soon as you enter, you'll come across the Museum of the Ancient Orient on your left. The artefacts include several statuettes, an inscription which is often regarded as the oldest love poem in the world, dating back to the 8th century BCE, the Yarkapi Sphinx, and the inscription of the Treaty of Kadesh, the oldest known treaty to man, among several other things. The main building of the museum is the large and magnificent Archaeological Museum, which houses the majority of the collection. It is home to a large collection of statuary and sarcophagi. It has several exhibitions on various regions of the Ottoman Empire, dating back to prehistoric times. The Alexander sarcophagus, the Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women and the Tabnit sarcophagus are some of the most popular pieces of art in the museum. And there are several more statues, artefacts, inscriptions, coins, and many other things from all periods of civilization. The Tiled Kiosk Museum is home to collections from the Seljuk and Ottoman empires when Islam established itself firmly in the region. It houses items very important to Islamic history such as the Tile Mihrab, the beautiful Candle Hanger, and several other artefacts decorated with patterns made from Iznik tiles.