The Impressive Archeological Museum of Istanbul

The group’s return to Istanbul meant a free afternoon for some of us disinterested enough in the TV station tour planned for the day.  Taking advantage of such free time, I chose to instead run along the southern coast and visit the archeological museum in Topkapi.  The former lasted about an hour (thirty minutes out-and-back) and showed a different side of the peninsula.

Opposed to the rolling terrain that we experienced the first couple days of touring (seven hills may be found on the peninsula), the southern coast was flat and without even the most nascent incline.  I passed by three points of notice.  First, a port larger than the one we embarked from to the north; second, a few parks where grade school teachers were taking advantage of the mid-Friday sun and, finally, an armada of cargo freights “parked” off of the southern coast awaiting clearance to pass north through the Bosphorus channel.

Numbering well over a hundred, the ships sat off the coast in the northern wind between distances of 200 and 800 meters.  Though the sizes of each ship didn’t vary, I assume that their cargo was a mix of everything valuable that could be found between Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Istanbul Archeological Museum

After a quick change, it was off to the archeological museum that was missed the Monday previous.  This museum had some hefty expectations to live up, and it did.  Housing artifacts such as sarcophagi excavated from the Levant, as well as the Kadesh Treaty (oldest political treaty in the world), the museum’s exhibits were chronologically ordered and very informative. 

I visited six of the eight sections, leaving out the top two floors of the main building dedicated to Syria and Jordan and Troy.  The other five were more than enough to satisfy my interests, covering ancient Middle East (Mesopotamia and Egypt mostly), tile work in Anatolia, sarcophagi from the Levant, pre-Byzantine Turkey, Istanbul through the ages and Thrace and Bythnia.  My only complaint would be that half my pictures didn’t survive a glitch upon download; however, most were of the panels rather than the artifacts themselves.

The first section visited was the pre-Islamic exhibit.  Here, two displays were of note.  First, part of the Ishtar Gate in Babylon exhibited numerous animals either found on the original or recreated from the 605-562 BC artifact.  As a Taurus myself, the most interesting were a couple of bulls.  The Kadesh Treaty was the second prominent piece.  Signed by the Egyptians in the Hittites around 1100 BC, this small artifact (about two feet by one foot) set the terms between the two civilizations and outlined such aspects as political prisoners.

A Bull from the Ishtar Gate

 The Treaty of Kadesh

The second exhibit visited was the sarcophagi from the Levant.  Pieces included the Lycian, Satrap, Alexander and “Weeping Women” tombs.  All of them hailed from the 4^th Century, but the best-preserved and most impressive was easily the Alexander Sarcophagus, which was so named because of the artwork on the tomb’s exterior and not for whom it may have encased.

From the Mural of the "Alexander" Sarcophagus.  Alexander is mounted, left

 One of the four faces from the "Weeping Women" Sarcophagus

Following this part of the museum, it was off to the pre-Byzantine section.  Covering from before the Persian period up until the Roman conquest turned to Byzantium, this winding hallway was dominated by Greek and Roman pieces inspired by Alexander and the Sea Gods.  However, it led into one of the more interesting sections that covered Byzantium’s eastern and western regions.

Poseidon

 The "Sea God"

Solely focused on Thrace and Bythnia, this section covered general and specific aspects of each with one area on the left side of the room and the other on the right.  These aspects included general history, life, religion, major cities and ceremonial practices.  Like most of the rest of the museum’s sections, descriptive histories of each area highlighted the prominent tribes, major resources and customs.  Though we studied each of these areas throughout both the Ottoman and Byzantine eras, I never felt that they played a dominant role in the region when compared to Istanbul.  After walking through this display, it felt as if each got a deserved representation.  I could not say the same for the next section.

A Sarcophagus recovered from Bythnia

Covering the period 330 to 1453, the Byzantine art section was hardly representative of the longest period on display.  Although this hall easily displayed the three major periods of Byzantine art, it felt that just as I was beginning to get a feel for one, the next was beginning.  I was disappointed by the lack of artifacts here.  Being interested in mosaics and busts of emperors, I was disappointed to only find one of each before the section came to an abrupt end.

Following it was the best section: Istanbul.  Again covering pre-Byzantine to early-Ottoman reigns, the placards here recounted most of the city’s historical monuments, even if no artifacts were present to do so.  Among them, one of the heads from the serpent monument in the Hippodrome was the most interesting.  Joining it was a section of the “Great Chain” that spanned the Golden Horn as well as coins from both Byzantine and Ottoman periods minted in the city.

A section of the "Great Chain"

Coins from the 13th Century Byzantium

 A portion of Porphyry from the 4th Century Tomb of Constantine the Great

 One of the three serpent heads from the Hippodrome Statue; the other two are out of Turkey

Finally, I stopped by the one section that felt most out-of-place: the Mosaic section.  Covering the three major tile-producing cities in Anatolia, the wing felt superfluous but was interesting nonetheless.   Beginning in the mid-19^th Century, Çanakkale enjoyed a period of ceramic production that helped ease the gradual decline of Iznik and produced much the same style and quality of goods. The other city, lost to the downloading mishap, produced earthenwares not in the traditional blue style.

One of the Iznik Tile sections displaying a Qur'anic verse; most probably once displayed in a Mosque at one time

Overall, the museum lived up to expectations and even exceeded some.  Most telling was that it was educational and complemented the course readings well.  Having taken over 220 pictures, more than 150 of them were from the panels describing the sites, artifacts and periods more than the artifacts themselves.  Well worth the twenty Turkish Lira for admission and audio guide!