THE MUSEUM OF THE ANCIENT ORIENT

This is the first building to the left at the entrance of the Archeological Museum. Originally a school building, it was converted into a museum in 1917, and then modernized between 1963-1973. The artifacts brought here from Egypt and the Middle Eastern countries that were under Ottoman rule prior to World War I, and relics from ancient Anatolian civilizations comprise a unique and beautiful collection.

Two basalt neo-Hittite lions are placed at the entrance. The Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Anatolian sections are on the second floor. Some of the pieces on display are artifacts from the old and new Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations, the graves of the pharaohs and Arabic tomb stone, as well as Hatti-Hittite and Urartu relics. The museum has a very rich and rare collection of cuneiform inscriptions consisting of 70 thousand tablets.