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Archaeological Museums in Turkey

Turkey is a fascinating land which is known to be the storehouse of the treasures of almost all the major ancient civilizations. And, this is why, it is a favorite place of the historians and the archaeologists. And, the archaeologists are attracted to the archaeological museums in Turkey. Istanbul Archeology Museum nestles in the Eminonu district of Istanbul and it is very near to Topkapi Palace and Gulhane Park. You will be finding three archaeological museums in Turkey within the campus of Istanbul Archeology Museum. The Old Eastern Works Museum and the Enameled Kiosk Museum are the most prominent ones. The collections of these archaeological museums in Turkey are fascinating and you can check out more than one million displayed objects over there. The objects display the remains of the old civilizations and eras in the world history.

Let us get into a brief history of the archaeological museums in Turkey. It was in 1881 when the construction of the main building started and and the initiative was taken by Osman Hamdi Bey. The whole construction was handled by the famous architect, Alexander Vallaury. This archaeological museum in Turkey is considered to be one of the fascinating structures in Istanbul designed in the neoclassical style. In 1883, Osman Hamdi Bey conceived the Ancient Eastern Works Museum as a Fine Arts School. Later on, the building was transformed to a museum and it was opened in 1935. Restoration works continued from 1963 to 1974. The Enameled Kiosk Museum was conceived by Mehmed II the Conquerer in 1472 and it is believed to be one the oldest structures in Istanbul featuring the skills of Ottoman civil architectures. In 1891, this archaeological museum in Turkey was considered to be the only museum displaying the Turkish art. And, in the late 19th century, the museum building got the recognition of the top ten major buildings in the whole world in the later half of 19th century. In 1991, the museum also received the European Council Museum Award for the impressive renovations of the ground floor halls in the main building and the new additions to the displayed collections.

The archaeological museums in Turkey display a fine collection of Roman, Greek and Hellenistic artifacts. Some of the significant collections are:

Parts of statues from the Temple of Zeus, Bergama
Alexander Sarcophagus, Sidon
Statue of an Ephebos
Statue of a lion from Mausoleum of Maussollos
The Troy exhibit
fragments from the temple of Athena, Assos
Sarcophagi of Tabnit and the Satrap
busts of Alexander the Great and Zeus
Ottoman coins, medals, decorations and seals
artifacts from Egypt, Anatolia, Arabia and Mesopotamia civilizations
snake's head from the Serpentine Column, Hippodrome
Siloam inscription

Thus, you will get to explore lots of interesting evidences and remains of the past from the archaeological museums in Turkey. For information on Museum Tours in Turkey, log on to Holidayshub.com.