A guide to Istanbul’s Museums
I’m really tired of using the same old worn out clichés when introducing Istanbul. You know the ones I mean, if you don’t I’ll give you a few examples, ready, where East meets West, the city spanning continents, where the magic of the orient meets the modernity the West, Europe meets Asia, you get the point. So avoiding clichés today’s post is about museums in Istanbul, of which there are lots and you can probably guess the reason why, yep you guessed it, East meets West.
Istanbul Archaeological Museums- This is not one museum but three, the Museum of Archaeology, Ancient Orient Museum and the Tiled Kiosk Museum. The museum houses a staggering 1 million pieces from many cultures and civilisations from around the world but especially those which made up the Ottoman Empire. It is considered to be one of the world’s most important museums. Where: Alemdar Cad. Osman Hamdi Bey Yokusu Sok. When: Summer 9am- 7pm, Winter 9am-5pm. Mondays closed. Admission: 10TL
Istanbul Mosaic Museum- This museum located close to Sultanahmet Square house a magnificent collection of mosaics from the Byzantine period. The majority of the mosaics were unearthed at the Great Palace of Constantinople. Many of the scenes on the mosaics are from daily life, a man milking a goat or a girl with a jug, are just a few examples. Where: Sultanahmet, Eminönü. When: Summer 9am- 7pm, Winter 9am-5pm Closed Mondays. Admission: 8TL
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts- This museum houses one of the world’s most important collections of Turkish and Islamic Art. Spanning the periods from the Ummayids to the Ottomans there is more than 1000 years of art and rare objects including ceramics, metal wiork, brass, manuscripts and much more. Where: At Meydani Sok, 46 Ibrahim Pasa Sarayi Sultanahmet, Eminönü. When: Summer 9am- 7pm, Winter 9am-5pm Closed Mondays. Admission: 10TL
Ataturk Museum- A house museum exclusively dedicated to the father of modern day Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The museum contains clothing, documents, personal belongings and paintings of what was Atatürk’sd residence on his return from the Syrian Front until he went to Samsun. Where: Halaskargazi Cad. 250. Osmanbey, Sisli. When: Wednesday to Sunday 9am-4pm. Admission: Free
These are just a few of the museums in Istanbul of course there are a lot more including the Istanbul Modern Art Museum, Toy Museum and Pera Museum just to name a few. With the Museum Pass Istanbul you get access to many of the Museums for free, for more information click here. Enjoy unearthing the amazing history of this fascinating city, which as you know, spans continents.
James – Marketing Team
