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The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi) is one of the finest museums in Turkey. It’s located a short walk downhill from Ankara Castle in Ankara.
History of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations was the first museum in both Ankara and the Turkish Republic. The origins of the museum date back to 1921, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic, suggested establishing a Hittite museum. Mübarek Galip Bey, the Director of Culture, took the initiative and established the Eti Museum at the White Fort (Ak Kale) in Ankara Castle.
After several Hittite artifacts were sent to Ankara, a larger museum was needed. In 1938, Hamit Zübeyir Koşay (1897-1984), the Director of Culture at that time, recommended two historic buildings as a space for the new museum. They had been destroyed by fire in 1881 and abandoned.
Renovation on the buildings began in 1938 and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations officially opened in 1943 while repairs were in progress. The renovation continued until 1968.
Buildings of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is housed in two historic buildings.
Mahmud Pasha Bedesten
The museum galleries are presented in the Mahmud Pasha Bedesten (Mahmud Paşa Bedesteni). It was built between 1464 and 1471 by Mahmud Pasha Angelović (1420-1474), a Grand Vizier under Mehmed the Conqueror. It consisted of 102 shops and is covered by 10 domes. Income from the Mahmud Pasha Bedesten was dedicated to the charitable foundation of the Mahmud Pasha Mosque in the Mahmutpaşa neighborhood of Constantinople (now Istanbul).
Kurşunlu Han
The museum offices are located in the Kurşunlu Han. It’s a caravanserai thought to have been built around the same time by Rum Mehmed Pasha (d. 1470), another Grand Vizier of Mehmed the Conqueror and the chief rival of Mahmud Pasha. It’s a two story building that had 28 rooms on the ground floor and 30 on the first floor. The structure provided income for the Rum Mehmed Pasha Mosque in Üsküdar.
Today, the rooms on the ground floor contain warehouses, a kitchen, dining hall, and workshop. The rooms on the upper floor house offices for the museum administration, archives, a conference hall, and a library.
Visiting the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is open daily and admission for foreigners is €12 (as of August 2024). The museum consists of 11 different sections, and information is presented in both Turkish and English. We spent about 90 minutes in the museum and could have easily spent more time. The final two sections, Sections 10 (Classical Periods) and 11 (Ankara), were under restoration and closed during our visit. Check the official website for more info.
Sections of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations consists of 11 different sections. As previously mentioned, we were able to visit the first nine sections.
Section 1: Paleolithic Age
The first section of the museum explores the Paleolithic Age, which started in Anatolia around 1,000,000 BC and ended around 9000 BC. It displays tools made of stone and bone broken down into three time periods: Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, and Upper and Late Upper Paleolithic. It includes many finds from the Karain Cave near Antalya.
Section 2: Neolithic Age
The second section at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is dedicated to the Neolithic Age, dated between 10,000 BC and 5500 BC. It’s divided into Aceramic and Ceramic Neolithic. On display are artifacts from Çatalhöyük and Hacılar including human and animal figurines; bone, flint, and obsidian tools; and terra-cotta and stone vessels.
Some of the most interesting items are original cave paintings of a hunting scene dating back to the 7th millennium BC as well as a replica Çatalhöyük room. Çatalhöyük was the world’s first known planned village.
Section 3: Chalcolithic Age
The third section displays finds from the Chalcolithic Age. It dates between 5500 BC and 3000 BC, when social organization and urban development began to develop. It includes artifacts such as pottery and stone stamps from Hacılar, Canhasan, Tilkitepe, Alacahöyük, Alişar Höyük, and Karaz.
Section 4: Early Bronze Age
The fourth section at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations includes several artifacts from the Early Bronze Age, which lasted between 3000 BC and 1950 BC. During this period, the people of Anatolia invented bronze by alloying copper with tin. One display includes wax figures making bronze for weapons.
Artifacts from archaeological sites all over Anatolia are featured. The collection includes statues, jewelry, figurines, tools, pottery, and vessels. Many items were found in tombs.
Section 5: Assyrian Trade Colonies
The fifth section of the museum is dedicated the the Assyrian trade colonies discovered at Kültepe, Acemhöyük, Alişar Höyük, and Boğazköy. Most of the finds are from Kültepe, which was the center of the trade network. The period lasted from 1950 BC to 1750 BC.
One highlight of the collection includes clay tablets inscribed with Assyrian cuneiform, which was later developed into a writing system. They were concerned with subjects such as law, trade, and economy and are the oldest written documents found in Anatolia. Other highlights are gold items found in tombs as well as ritual vessels.
Kültepe was an important ceramic center, and many impressive pieces of pottery from the Assyrian trade colonies period are on display. They were made by the Hattians and the Hittites.
Section 6: Hittites
The sixth section at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations features artifacts from the Hittite period, which spanned 550 years from 1750 BC to 1200 BC. The most important sites were Hattuşa, İnandıktepe, Eskiyapar, Alacahöyük, Alişar Höyük, and Ferzant.
One of the highlights of the collection is the İnandık Vase, which is decorated with four friezes depicting a Hittite marriage ceremony.
Another is a bronze tablet found at Hattuşa in 1986. It’s inscribed with Hittite cuneiform describing a peace treaty between Hittite Kings Tudhaliya IV of Hattuşaş Kurunta of Tarhuntassa in 1235 BC.
Hittite ceramics are also a major feature of this section. Pottery reached a high level of quality and diversity during the Hittite period. Many fine examples of pitchers and vessels are on display, including two ceremonial vessels in the shape of sacred bulls. The bulls were called Hurri (Day) and Seri (Night), and were found at Hattuşaş.
Section 7: Phrygians
The seventh section of the museum focuses on the Phrygian period, which lasted from 1200 BC to 700 BC. The Phrygians migrated to Anatolia from the Balkans and had a distinctly different style of ceramic and ornamental art to the Hittites. Artifacts come from archaeological sites at Alişar Höyük, Hattuşaş, Kültepe, Pazarlı, and Maşathöyük, but the displays are dominated by finds from the royal tumulus at Gordion.
The Phrygians were especially talented in wood and metalworking. Among some of the wooden items on display are the remains of a beautifully crafted table from Gordion and a case featuring an umbrella and rod, a stool, dish fragments, and service table fragments.
Metal items include a bronze cauldrons, jugs, bowls, and ladles as well as several pieces of jewelry. All of these items were found at Gordion, and one of the displays features the skull of King Midas.
Phrygian pottery was also advanced. On display are ceramic vessels shaped like ducks and ornately decorated jugs and vases of various sizes. They were found in many different Phrygian cities.
Finally, at the end of the Phrygian section is a replica of the Midas Monument at Midas City in the Phrygian Valley. On the opposite wall is a replica of the Phrygian fortress at Pazarlı built in the 7th century BC.
Section 8: Urartians
The eighth section of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations focuses on the Urartu period. The Urartians are the most easily identifiable ancestors of the Armenians and dominated Eastern Anatolia from 900 BC to 600 BC. They were advanced in metalworking and architecture. Most artifacts were found near Van, Erzincan, and Adilcevaz.
The most impressive item on display is a huge relief column element dating back to the 7th century BC. It was found in the temple-palace at the Kef Citadel in Adilcevaz, which was built by King Rusa II for the Urartian god Haldi.
Section 9: Hall of Stone Artifacts
The Hall of Stone Artifacts makes up the large domed center of the museum building. It contains stone sculptures and reliefs mostly from the Hittite, Late Hittite, and Phrygian periods. Most artifacts were excavated from Arslantepe, Kargamış (Carchemish), and Sakçagözü.
The following photos are just a handful of the items found in the Hall of Stone Artifacts. I’ll include only basic information about each artifact:
