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Front view of children’s grave sarcophagus in Antalya museum. Photo by tr:User:Bruno Giordano.

Top 10 Little known Facts about Antalya Muzesi

The Antalya Museum, also known as the Antalya Archeological Museum (Turkish: Antalya Müzesi), is one of Turkey’s largest museums, and is located in Konyaalt, Antalya.

It has 13 exhibition halls as well as an open air gallery. It has a floor area of 7,000 m2 (75,000 sq ft) and displays 5000 works of art. A further 25,000-30,000 artifacts that cannot be displayed are kept in storage.

Antalya Museum is one of Turkey’s most important museums, exhibiting examples of works that illuminate the history of Anatolia’s Mediterranean and Pamphylia regions. In 1988, the Museum was awarded the “European Council Special Prize.”

1. The museum was founded as a result of First World War archaeology in Italy

The museum was established as a result of Italian archeologists removing numerous treasures from the city center at the end of World War I. To avoid this, the Sultan’s advisor applied to be a volunteer curator of antiquities, and thus Antalya Museum was founded to collect and preserve what remained.

2. The pieces in the Antalya museum are from various sites throughout Turkey

Antalya Muzesi. Photo by Yamen.

The pieces in the Antalya Museum come from various locations throughout Turkey and are organized thematically into ‘halls,’ each of which corresponds to a different time period. The museum houses a large collection of Roman statues and sculptures, the majority of which were discovered during excavations of nearby Roman cities such as Perge.

The most famous of these ancient statues is undoubtedly the marble Heracies, which is one of the museum’s most famous exhibits and is responsible for its international renown.

3. The museum’s entrance hall has been transformed into a Children’s Museum

The entrance to the Archaeological Museum. Photo by Dat doris.

This section’s display windows contain a variety of children’s toys and antique moneyboxes. Simple restorations and educational activity opportunities for ceramic sculpture and drawing are provided, and their works are displayed in the studio section, to encourage children to visit museums and collect antiques.

4. Roman emperor sculptures are among the masterpieces in the museum

All the sculptures were discovered during excavations in Perga, an ancient city. Along with the emperor sculptures, the Dancer Sculpture, which is a symbol of the Antalya Museum, is displayed here. With its monumentality, fine details, and vitality, this sculpture, which was discovered in pieces and reassembled, is one of the Museum’s most admired works.

5. The prehistory Hall displays fossils that witnessed the formation of the world

Inside Antalya Muzesi. Photo by Yamen.

There are also objects of use produced by mankind, who moved from the hunting and gathering order to the settled order and took the first step into civilization, idols associated with their beliefs, figurines, and the pithos tomb, which reflects one of Anatolia’s oldest burial traditions.

6. Regional Excavation Hall displays artifacts from the region’s excavations

It is possible to see examples of artifacts discovered as a result of university archaeological excavations in the ruins of Lycia, Pamphylia, and Pisidia, as well as the museum’s rescue excavations.

7. Burial traditions are displayed on the lower floor of the museum annex building

Outdoor area of A​​ntalya Müzesi. Photo by Dat doris.

The carved burial reenactment of the Patara Ancient City, the magnificent Dioniziac sarcophagus discovered in Perge, a caryatid belonging to the Herõon of Limyra, the statues and metope friezes of the Limyran temple built for the Ptolemaic family, and Galius Caesar’s cenotaph friezes and inscriptions are all found here.

They can be seen in the corridor. The Heracles Statue, whose upper half was illegally smuggled from Perge to the United States and whose upper and lower halves were combined after being returned to our country, is displayed in a section specially prepared for him in the hall.

8. The Dancing Woman Statue, is one of the most important pieces in the Antalya Museum’s sculpture collection

The Dancing Woman Statue, which dates from the Roman Period, is one of the most important pieces in the Antalya Museum’s sculpture collection (2nd century AD). It is a very rare example because it is carved from fine-pored marble in black and white. The statue’s skin is made of white marble, while the clothes and hair are made of black marble.

The sculpture possesses superior artistic qualities in terms of materials, craftsmanship, and style. The work, which was discovered in multiple pieces and was raised using metal supports by combining the existing pieces, reflects the superior sculptural features of the period while also being made in an active manner.

9. The “Elmal Treasure” coin group is the most important coin group displayed in the Antalya Museum’s coin section

This great treasure containing approximately 1900 silver coins was discovered as a result of illegal excavations carried out in 1984 in Bayndr village of Elmal district of Antalya. The Elmal Treasure was returned to its homeland in 1999, and it was described as the “Treasure of the Century” when it was discovered in 1984.

Because the treasure was discovered in the first half of the fifth century BC, when information on political issues was extremely scarce. The treasury coins of all the city-states in the region have not yet entered commercial circulation and have been exceptionally preserved to this day.

The information provided by the coins about stamps, weight systems, and previously unknown names of kings and dynasties is crucial in terms of illuminating the period.

10. The Antalya Museum is regarded as one of the world’s most important museums

Antalya Muzesi. Photo by User:E-92.

It is regarded as such, particularly because of its Roman period artifacts in Perge and interesting and unique finds discovered during museum salvage excavations. In 1988, the Council of Europe named the museum “Museum of the Year.”

Antalya Museum (Antalya Muzesi) is an archaeological museum located in one of Turkey’s most popular tourist destinations. It is one of Turkey’s largest museums, with thousands of ancient and prehistoric artifacts and detailed explanations of their history.