The Antalya Museum
Set apart from the town centre, along the coast towards Kemer, the archaeological museum of Antalya is one of the most important museums in Turkey and covers the periods from prehistory to the 19th century.
The museum is particularly renowned for its exceptional collection of ancient sculptures, many of which come from the archaeological site of Perge. A visit not to be missed, all the more so as the museum, of a reasonable size, can be explored in only 1 to 2 hours!
Practical information:
The museum is about 3 km from the town centre, in the direction of Kemer. Coming from Kemer, follow the seafront straight ahead. Coming from Side, after the Antalya bypass and once you have reached the seafront, you must turn left, but the “Müzesi” sign is not very visible. From the centre of Antalya it is better to take the tram or a taxi rather than your car.
Address: Arkeoloji Müzesi 88 cad, Konyaalti, Antalya
GPS coordinates: N36.884972, E30.680567
Admission to the museum is charged. Open every day. From 1 April to 30 September, 8.30 am to 7.00 pm. From 1 October to 31 March, 8.30 am to 6.00 pm.
Visit to the Antalya Museum:
The building, renovated in 1988 with a pleasant museum layout, offers 13 exhibition galleries, a shop and a cafeteria looking onto a garden where a few archaeological pieces are displayed.
The visitor in a hurry will be interested mainly in the three galleries devoted to the archaeological pieces found during the excavations at Perge:
- Gallery of the gods: The principal gods of Olympus present in this gallery are Roman copies of the 2nd–3rd century, of Greek originals.
The Weary Hercules has at last, after a long legal battle with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, recovered his head and his torso.
- Emperors' gallery: Besides full-length or bust representations of emperors and empresses, one can admire there the Three Graces as well as a magnificent dancer in black and white marble.
- Gallery of sarcophagi: it contains a unique collection of sarcophagi and stelae. Linger before those, magnificently decorated, of the twelve labours of Hercules, or that of Dionysus. On the lids the deceased are often depicted, with or without their spouse.
However, if these three galleries are not to be missed, you will go through the other sections with interest and pleasure:
- The galleries of small works let you see jewellery, vases and statues of greater or lesser size, in bronze or in marble.
- In the icon gallery are displayed icons of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as a box containing some bones of Saint Nicholas (the patron of schoolchildren), but Turkey is demanding the return of the relic stolen by merchants from Bari (Italy) in 1087 and now kept in the basilica of that same town. There you will also find two mosaics, one depicting philosophers and the other Orpheus charming the wild animals with the sound of his lyre.
- For enthusiasts, the museum displays an important collection of coins running from the pre-Hellenistic period to the Ottoman period. You can also discover a remarkable set of Byzantine liturgical objects dating from the 6th century, in gold and silver, known as the Kumluca treasure (or Korydalla).
- The ethnographic galleries are fascinating and the collections well displayed. They range from objects of everyday life in the 19th century to a reconstruction of the rooms of a traditional Antalya house.
Another gallery presents carpets, objects and a tent used by the Yörük nomads of the region.
