Istanbul Archaeology Museums facts for kids

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Istanbul Archaeology Museums
İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri

Established	13 June 1891
Location	Osman Hamdi Bey Yokuşu Sokak, Gülhane, Istanbul, Turkey
Type	Archaeology museum
Collection size	1+ million objects
Visitors	382.148 (2011)

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums (Turkish: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri) are a super cool place in Istanbul, Turkey. They are actually a group of three museums! You can find them near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. Inside, they have over a million amazing objects. These items come from almost every time period and civilization in history!

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums include three main parts:

Archaeological Museum (this is in the main building)
Museum of the Ancient Orient (this museum focuses on ancient civilizations)
Museum of Islamic Art (located in the beautiful Tiled Kiosk)

A Look Back: How the Museum Started
- A Sultan's Idea
The Museum's Journey Through Time
Amazing Collections
Images for kids
See also

A Look Back: How the Museum Started

The story of these museums began a long time ago. It started near the Hagia Irene Church. After Istanbul was conquered, this church was used to store weapons for soldiers called Janissaries.

Later, around 1726, during the time of Sultan Ahmed III, it became a full weapons house. But by the 1800s, the church also started holding many different old objects collected by the Ottoman Empire.

A Sultan's Idea

Sultan Abdülaziz (who ruled from 1861 to 1876) visited museums in Paris, London, and Vienna in 1867. He was really impressed by them! So, he decided that Istanbul should have a similar museum.

In 1869, the church and its collection officially opened as the "Müze-i Hümayun." This name means "Imperial Museum." Because of this, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum is often called the "first museum of Turkey."

The Museum's Journey Through Time

The museum's collection grew quickly. Because there wasn't enough space, the museum and its items moved to the Tiled Kiosk between 1875 and 1891.

The Tiled Kiosk

The Tiled Kiosk is a very old building. Sultan Mehmed II had it built in 1472 as a pleasure palace. It's the oldest non-religious Ottoman building in Istanbul. You can still see its beautiful Persian style. In 1953, it opened as a museum for Turkish and Islamic art. Later, it became part of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

Osman Hamdi Bey: The Museum's Founder

A statue and plaque honoring Osman Hamdi Bey in the main museum building

In 1881, a very important person named Osman Hamdi Bey became the first director and founder of the museum. He was a talented painter and an archaeologist. His father, Ibrahim Edhem Pasha, was a powerful leader in the Ottoman Empire.

Osman Hamdi Bey was also a famous artist. In 2019, one of his paintings, "Girl Reading the Quran," sold for a huge amount of money. It was the most expensive Turkish painting at that time!

Protecting Old Treasures

In the 1800s, people in the Ottoman Empire started to understand how important old artifacts were. They realized they needed rules to protect these cultural treasures.

In 1869, the first laws were made to protect ancient objects. These laws helped decide how excavations could happen. They also explained how to manage the artifacts found. If someone found an artifact on their land, they could keep it. But it was against the law to take these items out of the country.

Thanks to these new rules, governors from all over the Ottoman Empire sent discovered artifacts to Istanbul. This helped the museum's collection grow even bigger!

A New Home for the Collection

Soon, many important discoveries were made. For example, a large burial site of King Sidon was found in what is now Lebanon. It became clear that the museum needed a much bigger building.

The front of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. It says "Museum of Antiquities" in Ottoman Turkish.

So, Osman Hamdi Bey started building the main museum building in 1881. It officially opened on June 13, 1891. The architect, Alexander Vallaury, also designed the famous Pera Palace Hotel.

The front of the museum building was inspired by two famous sarcophagi (stone coffins) inside the museum: the Alexander Sarcophagus and the Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women. The words on the museum's entrance say "Asar-ı Atika Müzesi," which means "Museum of Antiquities." This building is a great example of neoclassical style in Istanbul.

In 1991, on its 100th birthday, the museum won the European Council Museum Award. This was for the great improvements made to the main building and the new displays.

Museum of the Ancient Orient

The Museum of the Ancient Orient was first built by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1883 as an art school. It was later turned into a museum and opened in 1935.

This museum has collections from many ancient places. These include items from Anatolia (like the Hittites and Urartians), Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria, Iran, and Ancient Arabia. For example, it has about 1,200 Egyptian art pieces. Many of these came from excavations near Karnak in 1891.

Amazing Collections

The museum has a huge collection of Turkish, Hellenistic (ancient Greek), and Roman artifacts. Many of these were gathered from the vast lands that used to be part of the Ottoman Empire.

Here are some of the most famous and interesting items you can see:

Ornate Sarcophagi: These are beautifully decorated stone coffins found in the Royal necropolis of Ayaa in Sidon.
- The Alexander Sarcophagus is one of the most famous pieces. People once thought it was made for Alexander the Great himself!
- The Sarcophagus of the mourning women is another stunning piece from Sidon.
- You can also see the Tabnit sarcophagus, the Sarcophagus of the Satrap, and the Lycian sarcophagus of Sidon.
Ishtar Gate Tiles: See the colorful glazed tile images from the famous Ishtar Gate of Babylon.
Ancient Statues: There are many statues from ancient times up to the end of the Roman Era. These come from places like Aphrodisias, Ephesus, and Miletus.
Parts of the Temple of Zeus: See pieces from the Temple of Zeus found at Bergama.
Marble Lion: A marble lion from the Mausoleum of Mausolus, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Serpentine Column: A snake's head from the Serpentine Column that once stood in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.
Troy Exhibit: Explore artifacts from the ancient city of Troy.
Ancient Coins: The museum has 800,000 Ottoman coins, seals, and medals!
Oldest Law Collection: One tablet has the oldest known collection of laws, called the Code of Ur-Nammu.
World's Oldest Peace Treaty: Two of the three tablets of the Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty (from 1258 BCE) are here. This treaty was signed between Ramesses II of Egypt and Hattusili III of the Hittite Empire. It's the oldest known peace treaty in the world! A giant copy of these tablets is even on display at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
Cuneiform Tablets: An archive holds about 75,000 documents written in cuneiform. One of these tablets even contains the oldest known love poem, called the Istanbul #2461 tablet!
Siloam Inscription: This important inscription made headlines in 2007.
Gezer Calendar: An ancient calendar from the city of Gezer.

Images for kids

Si.427 obverse, dates from the Old Babylonian period between 1900 and 1600 BCE. Discovered in the late 19th century in what is now Iraq.
The Alexander Sarcophagus, found at the Royal necropolis of Ayaa in Sidon
The Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty
Lycian sarcophagus of Sidon in Parian marble from the Royal necropolis of Ayaa in Sidon
Pediment and shafts of a temple
Icon with relief Virgin Mary at prayer
Statue of Emperor Valentinian II
Statue of Alexander the Great
Puzur Ishtar, governor of Mari
Glazed brick panel from way to Ishtar Gate
Porphyry sarcophagi of Byzantine emperors
Tabnit sarcophagus in Diorite from the Royal necropolis of Ayaa in Sidon
Siloam Inscription