Native name:
Istanbul
Arkeoloji Müzeleri
Istanbul Archaeology Museum is located in the Eminönü district of Istanbul , near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace . It consists of three separate buildings . They are the Main Building of Archaeology Museum , Ancient Works Museum (or Museum of the Ancient Orient) and Tiled Pavilion (Museum of Islamic Art) . The museum contains over one million objects from all of the eras and civilizations in world history . The site of the museum was originally a part of the outer gardens of Topkapı Palace . When the museum first opened to the public in 1891 , it was the first museum to feature Turkish art .
Since the enforcement of the imperial decree protecting cultural goods in the Ottoman empire , any found artefacts throughout Turkey were sent to the capital city and as a consequence , the museum was able to amass a great collection of objects . In 1991 , in its 100th anniversary , the Museum was awarded the European Council Museum Award . Recently , many renovations have been made to the lower floor halls of the main building of in addition to the display of new objects in the other buildings .
Among the most famous pieces of ancient art that can be found in the museum is Alexander
Sarcophagus
which is believed to had been prepared for Alexander the Great . Other famous objects that attracts the visitors include The Kadesh Peace Treaty (1258 BCE) , the oldest known peace treaty in the world that was signed between Ramesses II of
Egypt
and Hattusili III of the Hittite Empire . The museum houses also a large collection of Turkish , Hellenistic and Roman artifacts , among the most prominent of them are , Sarcophagus of the Crying Women , Sarcophagi of Tabnit and the Satrap , the Lycian tomb which is a famous monumental tomb , Glazed tile images from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon , various statues from ancient times until the end of the Roman empire (from Aphrodisias , Ephesus and Miletus) , parts of statues from the Temple of Zeus found at Bergama , as well as other marvelous objects exhibited in this great museum .
