Museums You Should See in Türkiye

We have put together 12 of the museums you should visit to follow both the heritage of the civilisations in our country and artistic activity in the modern world.

1) Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, Ankara

Located in the Altındağ district, the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations displays archaeological finds from Anatolia and is one of the few museums of its kind in the world.

When it first opened (1921) it showed only works from the Hittite period, but over time works from other civilisations were added, and it went from being the Hittite Museum to the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations.

With its distinctive collections, this important museum presents the archaeology of Anatolia from the Palaeolithic to the present day.

In 1997 it was chosen from among 68 museums for the European Museum of the Year Award.

2) Istanbul Archaeology Museums

One of the countless buildings we have inherited from the Ottoman Empire. Founded in 1891, the museum has three main parts: the Archaeology Museum, the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Tiled Pavilion (Çinili Köşk).

Home to more than a million objects, the museum welcomes visitors on Osman Hamdi Bey Yokuşu in Gülhane.

3) Zeugma Mosaic Museum, Gaziantep

Opened on 9 September 2011, with a full 1,700 square metres of mosaics, the Zeugma Mosaic Museum holds the title of the world’s second-largest mosaic museum and draws crowds of Turkish and foreign visitors.

Home to important works such as Roman fountains, 2,000-year-old mosaics, the famous “Gypsy Girl” and a statue of Mars, it was the world’s largest mosaic museum for about three years, until it had to hand that title to the Hatay Archaeology Museum, which opened on 28 December 2014.

4) Hatay Archaeology Museum

Begun in 2011, the museum has 32,754 square metres of indoor space, 10,700 square metres of exhibition space and 3,500 square metres of mosaics on display, making it the largest mosaic exhibition in the world.

Home to famous works such as the Soteria Mosaic, the museum was opened by the prime minister of the time, Ahmet Davutoğlu.

5) Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul

This magnificent building, from which the Ottoman Empire ruled the world for about 400 years, was first opened to visitors under Sultan Abdülmecid. After moving to Dolmabahçe Palace, Abdülmecid showed the antiquities at Topkapı Palace to the British ambassador and gave him a tour inside. That was the palace’s first opening to visitors.

In later years it became customary to show foreign visitors around the palace and its antiquities, and under Sultan Abdülaziz glass cases were made for the first time so that the old treasures in the treasury could be viewed under protection.

It was opened to the public on 3 April 1924.

6) Amasya Archaeology and Mummy Museum, Amasya

Founded in 1958, the museum holds around 24,000 objects from 11 different civilisations, including archaeological and ethnographic finds, coins, seals, manuscripts and mummies.

Six mummies lie in the tomb of Sultan Mesud I in the museum garden. Dating from the Ilkhanid period, they belong to Prince Cumudar, governor of Anatolia, İşbuga Noyan, emir of Amasya, İzzettin Mehmet Pervane, a concubine and young girls.

The museum welcomes visitors on Atatürk Avenue in Amasya.

7) Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul

Work to found this museum began towards the end of the 19th century, and it opened to the public in 1913 inside the Süleymaniye Mosque complex, one of Mimar Sinan’s most important works.

First called the “Evkâf-ı İslâmiye Museum” (Museum of Islamic Foundations), it took its present name after the proclamation of the Republic.

The museum displays works of art from various countries of the Islamic world: stone and terracotta, metal and ceramic objects, glassware, manuscripts, woodwork, 13th-century Seljuk carpets and masterpieces of Turkish carpet-making.

8) Bursa City Museum

The Bursa City Museum has occupied the old courthouse building since 2004.

Showing the changes Bursa has been through over 7,000 years, it holds exhibits well worth seeing, such as sets recreating traditional commercial life, a topographic model of the city and wax figures of the six Ottoman sultans who lived in Bursa.

9) Museum of the History of Science and Technology in Islam, Istanbul

Located in Gülhane Park and opened in 2008, the museum was prepared by Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin, an honorary member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) and professor at the University of Frankfurt. It presents scientific and technological instruments invented by Muslim scientists between the 9th and 16th centuries.

Everyone in Türkiye who calls themselves a Muslim should accept that Muslims have fallen behind in the world’s technological progress and should do their part to change this. The first step is to research, learn from and build on the Muslim scientists who can serve as our examples and what they left us. Prepared by Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin, this museum is an unmissable opportunity for us to learn about our past and plan our future.

10) Mevlana Museum, Konya

Open since 1926, the museum is also known as the “Mevlana Mausoleum”, the resting place of Rumi.

Built on 18,000 square metres of ground, before entry became free it was the second-highest-earning museum for the Ministry of Culture (after Topkapı Palace).

11) Istanbul Museum of Modern Art

Known as Istanbul Modern for short, it is Türkiye’s first museum of modern art.

Opened on 11 December 2004 after Warehouse No. 4, built as a dry cargo store for the Maritime Authority, was converted into a museum, Istanbul Modern hosts paintings, sculptures and other works, reflecting contemporary art from its beginnings to the present and the artistic transformation Türkiye went through in the 20th century.

12) Hagia Sophia Mosque

It was built by Emperor Justinian in 537.

Mehmed the Conqueror turned it into a mosque as a symbol of the conquest, to affirm that Istanbul had become a Muslim homeland.