Visit Antalya Museum to see Turkey’s Ancient Treasures

If you are interested in archaeology, or the many layers of history in Turkey, a visit to the museum in Antalya is a must! There is no doubt that the Antalya Museum is one of the best archaeological museums in the country.

The museum’s spectacular collection of artefacts is well sorted and really beautifully displayed. I don’t think we have ever seen such an impressive collection of ancient marble statues, all stunningly lit and often standing in a dedicated, individual niche.

The Antalya Museum shows an outstanding collection of Lycian, Roman and Byzantine artefacts, including marble statues, gold jewellery and sarcophagi.

If you have been to any of the archeological sites in the province of Antalya, a visit to the museum in the city will be a fascinating addition to your itinerary. Here you can see the more precious and fragile discoveries found during excavations: from beautiful gold jewellery to pottery to an astonishing collection of mostly Roman marble statues.

Although exhibits from the Lycian to the Roman periods are the most eye-catching in Antalya’s museum, its collection goes way back to the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age). Most of these objects are from the Karain Cave, 27 kilometres west of the city.

To present these different time periods in a logical, easy to comprehend way, the museum is divided into a number of halls, each dedicated to a specific theme. For the full list of exhibition rooms please see this government page.

A collage of 3 photos showing small items on display at the Antalya Museum: a bronze mask, a beautiful gold pendant (showing an angel holding a lyre), and patterned glass vases.

The Highlights of the Antalya Museum

I confess that we passed through the first few rooms a little too fast, in part because we have seen similar things in other places. The pull of the Halls of Emperors and Gods, with their splendid marble statues, was too strong. When we entered, we felt almost overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the many exhibits; such intricate detail, such high precision craftsmanship.

One wall of the “Hall of Gods” at the Antalya Museum. Each of the beautiful marble statues stands in its own niche.

All of these statues are discoveries from a single site: the ruins of Perge (or Perga in some documents) to the east of Antalya. It’s hard to imagine the full-scale richness and opulence of this city during its heyday, the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD.

Today, there are mostly stone fragments and footings visible at the excavations site. The former splendour and grandeur has been worn down by time, looters and countless earthquakes. But then you come to realise that Perge was only one of dozens of such rich cities along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast!
Please refer to this post for more about the ruin site of Perge .

Please click thumbnails below for a larger photo with description.

When you inspect individual statues closely, you will be awestruck by the detail of the stonework: the facial expressions, the meticulous detail that went into the folds and buckles of the robes, the hairstyles, and other embellishments. We jokingly said that during its peak of power, the Roman Empire must have employed skilled sculptors in numbers equalling today’s bus drivers… Especially once you take into account that wealthy Romans also decorated their homes with marble statues, big and small.

This is a section of the “Perge Theatre Hall” in the Antalya Museum. In the foreground a statue that shows Marsyas, the satyr, being sacrificed to Apollo. On the wall in the background recovered sections of the marble frieze, which went all the way around the former theatre building.

The museum visit gets better – if that’s possible to imagine. The Perge Theatre Hall exhibits marble statues and friezes from the ancient Roman theatre of the city. Again, the detail of many of them is astonishing. Then you come into the Sarcophagus Hall and it gets even more opulent. To imagine that people were buried in sarcophagi with such elaborate stone carvings is nearly beyond comprehension.

Some of the treasures in the “Hall of Sarcophagi”. These stunningly detailed sarcophagi were chiselled from a single block of white marble.

After all these highlights, the upper floor has smaller objects on display. There is an exhibit or rare Lycian coins, a section with domestic sculptures, and also a collection of icons (hand-painted and gold embellished wooden panels, like you find in orthodox churches), which depict Saint Nicholas. He was born in Patara, a small town near Antalya. Worldwide, he’s better known as Santa Claus.

Please click thumbnails below for a larger photo with description.

This might very well be the only complete statue depicting the notorious Roman Emperor Caracallus, who was murdered by one of his guards. It is assumed that it dates from the year 212.

One wall of the “Hall of Emperors” at the Antalya Museum.

A group of three beautifully detailed marble heads.

A close up photo of the elaborate breastplate on a marble statue, which depicts the Emperor Traian.

Part of a marble frieze, recovered from the Temple of Apollo at Perge. It shows cattle being led by people to a place of sacrifice.

A marble statue of Dionysus [2nd century AD], which adorned the Theatre at Perge.

Another marble sarcophagus from Perge. This one shows a lot of barely clad women around its four sides and a reclining couple on the large lid. In the background, a statue of Hercules.

The marble statue of a weary Hercules. This is another piece where parts had to be retrieved from a foreign country. The top section was long in the hands of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in the USA. It was only returned after lengthy negotiations, once Turkey could prove that they had discovered the matching torso and legs.

The Antalya Museum Preserves Ancient Treasures, Important in Turkey’s History

The Antalya Museum was founded in 1919, just after WWI, when the Italians occupied this part of Turkey. They didn’t do anything to protect the archaeological treasures; instead of preventing looting, the Italians collected a lot of precious antiquities and sent them to their home country.

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Süleyman Fikri Bey, who was a teacher, recognised the threat to Turkey’s heritage and initiated the rescue of the most valuable pieces. He created a small museum, first housed in the Alâeddin Mosque in Antalya. The growing collection was later moved to another mosque, before it found its permanent home in the newly built museum in 1972. Between 1982 and 1985, the Antalya Müzesi [Turkish spelling] was remodelled and extended into its current form.

Turkey is one of many countries whose historic riches have been plundered by more powerful nations. Archaeologists, who saw it as their god-given right to transport any discovery of value back to a museum in their home country; unscrupulous private collectors who bought precious antiquities from looters; and thieves who illegally sold pieces to the highest bidder. Sadly, this still goes on.

The stunning “Sarcophagus of Heracles”, which was illegally removed from the archaeological site of Perge. By sheer luck, it was discovered years later by Swiss customs and subsequently returned to Turkey.

But Turkey is fighting to recover what is legally theirs; popular relics removed from countless historic sites. Throughout the museum, you will find large placards telling you the story of how a treasured piece made it back into the collection. Unfortunately, the more famous the international museums, the tighter their grip on what they see as theirs – even if it was illegally removed from an archeological site on the other side of the world…

So visit the Antalya Museum and marvel at some beautiful marble in its righteous place!

If you have some energy left, wander the grounds of the Antalya Museum. There are several beautiful pieces among the numerous artefacts stored around the building.

Opening Hours and Entrance Fee of the Antalya Museum

   Address: Konyaaltı Cad. No.88, 07050 Muratpaşa/Antalya

The museum is opened daily from 8.30am – 6.00pm.
The entrance fee is ₺36 per adult ticket [March 2020].
Link to the museum’s official web page .

The museum has a large car park, free of charge. But we visited off-season and cannot guarantee that you will find space during popular hours in high season.
A good option to get from the centre of Antalya to the museum is to take the Nostalji Tram westward. This is the only tram in Antalya, and was donated by a city in Germany. It follows the shoreline all the way, and the museum is its last stop.

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