Thursday's Child: Istanbul Archaeology Museums

The Lycian Sarcophagus

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums are a collection of three buildings, situated next to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.  Between them, they house nearly a million archaeological pieces.  We visited two of the buildings, and were staggered by the breathtaking collection that we saw.

The first, and largest, building that we visited is simply known as Archaeological Museum, and it holds pieces from a number of ancient civilizations, including Greece, Turkey and the Roman Empire.  The Alexander Sarcophagus is probably the best-known artifact.  A carving along one of the sides depicts Alexander the Great at war against the Persians and, despite its name, the sarcophagus actually belonged to the king of the Persians.  Carvings along the other sides depict animal hunts.  This sarcophagus is considered one of the most artistic and best-preserved anywhere in the world.

The Sarcophagus of Tabnit

Mummy of King Tabnit

The Sarcophagus of Tabnit is also a renowned part of the collection.  King Tabnit was one of the rulers of Sidon, in modern-day Lebanon.  The coffin was built in the shape of a human, and is beautifully carved. The king’s mummy was removed from the sarcophagus and lies in display under glass beside it.  This was done in defiance of the inscription on the tomb, which warns potential grave robbers that they’ll be cursed if they disturb his body. Inscriptions are in both Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Phoenician alphabet.

Statue of Alexander the Great

We were fortunate to visit in early 2010, when The Discus Thrower was on loan from the British Museum.  Note that when this statue was sold to an English collector in the late eighteenth century, while it was being restored the head was placed incorrectly on the statue.  It should face toward the discus, not the ground.

Having been awed by the Archaeological Museum, we went next door to see The Museum of Islamic Art in the Tiled Kiosk.  Last week I wrote about how I love small museums and this was no exception.  Just a couple of rooms, it was full of light and colour, and we fell in love with the collection immediately. 

The kiosk was built in the late fifteenth century, and was originally part of the Topkapi Palace before being annexed by the museum.

The Mihrab from the Ibrahim Bey Mosque.  A mihrab is a niche in the wall of a mosque
 that indicates the direction of Mecca, and thus the direction that should be faced in prayer.

This tiled peacock fountain was one of the most beautiful items in the collection.