Self-Guided Tour: Istanbul Archaeological Museums

By Lale Surmen Aran and Tankut Aran

• Istanbul Archaeological Museums website
• Getting There
• Getting In
• Eating Options

The three Istanbul Archaeological Museums offer a collection that rivals any on earth, with intricately carved sarcophagi, an army of Greek and Roman sculptures, gorgeous İznik tiles, ancient Babylonian friezes, the world's oldest peace treaty, and an actual chunk of the chain that the Byzantines stretched across the Golden Horn.

Overview: The main Museum of Archaeology features the world-renowned Alexander Sarcophagus, a selective and engaging collection of ancient sculpture, and archaeological finds from the Trojans and the Byzantines (predominantly from the sixth century BC on). The 15th-century Tiled Kiosk Museum, one of the oldest examples of Ottoman civic architecture, contains an outstanding collection of centuries-old Turkish tiles. And the Museum of the Ancient Orient displays artifacts from early Mesopotamian and Anatolian cultures, mostly dating from before the sixth century BC (with some going all the way back to 2700 BC).

Length of this tour: Allow at least two hours to tour all three museums. If you're in a hurry, spend an hour at the Museum of Archaeology, give the smaller Tiled Kiosk Museum a quick walk-through, and sprint through (or skip) the Ancient Orient.

Expect changes: As all three museums may be undergoing some renovations during your visit, look for signs at the entry gate that list temporary displays and closures.  

Highlights: A slew of sarcophagi (including the remarkable Alexander Sarcophagus), sumptuous İznik tiles, the ancient Kadesh Treaty, and several millennia of Turkey's past.

Museum of Archaeology

Use the first of the museum's two entrances, directly opposite the café. Both are framed by pediments supported by four tall columns — resembling the designs on some of the museum's sarcophagi. Inside you'll find those sarcophagi, as well as piles of artifacts from the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Trojans, and more. The museum is well signed with good English explanations.

• As you go through the door, you'll enter a lobby dominated by a colossal statue of…

Bes

This statue dates to the first century AD. Often confused with Hercules, Bes was a demigod of ancient Egypt and a popular figure in the Cypriot pantheon of gods at the time. Here we see Bes holding a lion by its legs. Scholars' best guess is that the statue served as a fountain.

• Facing Bes, head left. You'll pass the cloakroom and the gift shop (WCs are nearby). Connecting halls ahead of you display the museum's…

Sarcophagi Collection

These sarcophagi were brought here in the 1880s from the royal necropolis of Sidon (in present-day Lebanon, but part of the Ottoman Empire back then). Discovered accidentally by a villager digging a well, they are among the most important classical works ever unearthed.

• Go through the doorway, and look for…

Tabnit's Sarcophagus

Just as you enter is an Egyptian sarcophagus carved from dark diorite (similar in texture to granite). Dating from the sixth century BC, this is the oldest sarcophagus found in the Sidon excavations. Hieroglyphs on the lid describe the first owner, an Egyptian commander named Penephtah. He was later moved from his tomb to make room for the local king, Tabnit of Sidon (whose mummified corpse lies next to the sarcophagus). The inscription at the foot is Tabnit's epitaph.

Across the hall, two light-colored, Egyptian-style sarcophagi lie side by side. Beginning in the fifth century BC, Greek sculptors carved Egyptian-looking sarcophagi for their wealthy clients. Although the basic style was Egyptian, the Greeks felt free to play around with the design. The result: archaic Greek figures trapped in an Egyptian sarcophagus. The extensions at the shoulders were used to lift or carry the sarcophagus, then chopped off once it reached its final destination.

• In the middle of the hall, you'll see the…

Lycian Sarcophagus

Dating from the late fifth century BC, this sarcophagus is named for Lycia — a small area in Mediterranean Turkey — because its shape resembles the distinctive, monumental tombs built into the side of a cliff there. But that's where the connection ends: The three-quarter poses of this sarcophagus' figures and their Thracian attire — popular in Athens at the time — instead link it to the Greek mainland, as does the layered portrayal of horses and hunters on the casket's long sides. This experimentation with 3-D perspective winds up as a clutter of horse heads and hooves — like equine Rockettes.

The two long sides feature detailed, lifelike hunting scenes: a lion on one side, a wild boar on the other. The horses show their Arabic and European ancestry, with large foreheads, deep chests, and lean bellies — similar to the horses in friezes at the Parthenon in Athens.

On one end, two centaurs fight over a deer. One is naked, while the other — wearing a panther skin — is about to spear his opponent in the eye. On the other end, centaurs beat a man to death. This half-buried man is Kaineus, the mythological centaur slayer. The centaur on his left is about to hit him with an amphora jug. The simple lid is decorated with seated sphinxes on one side and griffins on the other.

• Continue to the…

Satrap Sarcophagus

A "satrap" was a Persian governor, akin to a viceroy ruling in a king's name. This sarcophagus dates from the fifth century BC. Its specific occupant is unknown, but the scenes on the sides of the casket trace the life of a powerful satrap. The once-bright colors of the palm- and lotus-flower borders faded long ago. On one long side, the satrap and his men prepare his chariot for a ride. As you walk around the sarcophagus to the right, the short end shows the satrap reclining on a bench in his private chamber, accompanied by his wife (resting her back on the border). A servant pours wine, while a second servant stands by with a cloth in one hand and an unseen fan in the other. In the next scene, on the opposite long side, the satrap uses a spear to hunt a panther. The final short end shows the satrap's grooms with their spears, helping him out of a potentially embarrassing situation.

• Exit the hall. You are now in a lobby dedicated to Osman Hamdi Bey, the museum's founder (find his bust near the staircase to the right). Backlit panels and the central showcase give details about his life and paintings. Famous in his own time as a painter, Osman Hamdi (1842–1910) is today regarded as the father of Turkish museums. Hamdi directed the excavations in Sidon and discovered the next two sarcophagi completely intact in separate burial chambers, where they had been insulated from humidity and water damage.

Continue into the connecting hall to see the two marble sarcophagi, starting with the outstanding…

Alexander Sarcophagus

The museum's star exhibit is inside a large, red-framed glass case. Other than a few dents in the marble caused by careless movers, this fourth-century BC sarcophagus is in excellent condition. Although it's known as the Alexander Sarcophagus — that's Alexander the Great portrayed in the scenes of battle and hunting on the sides — it was carved to hold King Abdalonymos of Sidon.

While faded after 2,000 years, some of the sarcophagus' colors remain, and the bas-reliefs that decorate the casket and its lid are impressive. Some figures are almost freestanding, giving the impression that their next step will take them right out of the scene and into the room with you. Nearby, look for a color model of the "Alexander on his horse" scene, offering a better idea of how the relief may have looked in full sarcophi-color.

One side of the casket shows Alexander's army battling the Persians in the Battle of Issus in 333 BC. Alexander's victory here paved the way for him to conquer the Middle East. The battle also changed the life of Abdalonymos, the sarcophagus' likely "owner": Distantly related to Sidon's royal family, he was appointed as the new king when the Macedonians marched into Sidon. It's easy to tell who's who: Persian troops wear long pants, several layers of loose shirts, and turbans. The Macedonians are either naked or half-naked, in short tunics. On the far left, Alexander wears a lion pelt as he attacks a Persian soldier from horseback. His arm is raised as he prepares to hurl a (missing) spear.

Move counterclockwise around the sarcophagus. The battle scene continues on the short end of the casket to the right. The relief on the lid, in the triangular pediment, is another battle scene — likely the battle of Gazze (312 BC), in which King Abdalonymos was killed. The dominant red color is best preserved on this side.

The next, long side of the sarcophagus depicts two separate hunting scenes. This relief, less crowded than the battle scene, is dominated by the lion hunt at its center. The lion's body is pierced at several points, and blood flows from his wounds. Still, he manages to bite and claw at the horse's shoulder. The rider of the horse is King Abdalonymos, dressed in a traditional Persian outfit. Pay attention to the different garb of the soldiers — here, they're all hunting together. This was a scene Alexander fought for: to create a united empire. The Macedonian on the horse behind the lion is Alexander's general, Hephaestion, who appointed Abdalonymos as king. Alexander is on horseback to the left of Abdalonymos.

On the final short end is a panther hunt, but this time all the hunters are dressed in the same Persian style. There's more fighting in the pediment, but the figures here are not as refined as the rest. Apparently the first sculptor ran out of time to complete his work, so another took up the hammer.

• Near the Alexander Sarcophagus is another perfectly preserved sarcophagus, the…

Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women

The museum building you are in was modeled after this mid-fourth-century BC sarcophagus, arguably the best example of its kind. Although Greek in style, it has Eastern influences that are apparent in the mourning figures' wailing gestures and long robes (called chitons).

The sarcophagus belonged to King Straton of Sidon. Professional mourners — women hired to cry and wail at funerals — were common when he died around 360 BC, but the women portrayed on this sarcophagus were members of Straton's harem and seem genuinely affected by his death. Notice that their gestures are very natural, almost lifelike. Scholars believe the sculptor may have used models to create such realistic emotion. The designs along the lid's long sides show the funerary procession. From right to left, find the young man leading the cortege, two horses to be sacrificed at the service, a Persian quadriga (chariot with four horses), and a funeral cart pulled by four horses, followed by the attendants.

More-Sarcophagi Detour

If you're not yet sick of sarcophagi, you could continue through the doorway at this end of the hall to take a quick look at several fairly well-preserved steles and sarcophagi from Sidon and other places in the Middle East. Continue into the next rooms to see two standouts: the second-century Sarcophagus of Meleagros, decorated with mythological figures and motifs, and the third-century Sidamara Sarcophagus, known for its sheer size and detailed sculptures. And at the far end of the exhibit are some remarkable friezes from two ancient temples in southwestern Turkey: the temple of Artemis at Magnesia ad Maeandrum and the temple of Hecate at the Carian city of Lagina.

• From here, retrace your steps to the Bes statue (where we entered) and continue through the doorway on the other side to find…

Ancient Greek and Roman Sculpture

• You're greeted by the head of a…

Kouros

This kouros (a Greek statue of a boy), dating from 600 BC, was brought from the Greek island of Sámos. His face is round, with a blunt profile, almond eyes, and raised eyebrows. His lips are closed and straight, but grooves at the corners give the impression that he's smiling. In south Aegean art, kouros statues represented the idealized Greek youth. Similar heads and statues have been found in excavations on Sámos, Rhodes, Cos, and other Greek islands.

• The rest of the hall follows a chronological order, from Archaic Greek to Persian rule, on to the Roman period. Emphasis is on…

Hellenistic Sculpture

Rather than noble, idealized gods, the Hellenistic artists gave us real people with real emotions. But the highlight of this exhibit is a pair of Alexander the Great artifacts. Both were discovered at Pergamon, the world-famous acropolis in Aegean Turkey.

Swooping down from ancient Macedonia (located in present-day Macedonia and the far north of Greece) in the fourth century BC, Alexander the Great's father conquered the Greeks and embraced their culture — one of Alexander's tutors was Aristotle. When Alexander took the throne after his father's assassination, he spread Greek customs and philosophy as he marched across the Middle East. By the time he died, in 323 BC, his empire — and Greek culture — stretched all the way to India. Every city's main square had a Greek temple, and Greek was the language of his vast domain.

From an artistic perspective, Alexander's conquests marked the end of the Greek Golden Age, when balance was celebrated above all. The Hellenistic period that followed was characterized not by idealized and composed beauty but by rippling energy and jump-off-the-stage exuberance.

Carved from fine white marble, the powerful statue of Alexander the Great dates from the second century BC. It's likely he once held a bronze spear in his right hand, although his right arm and hand are missing. The hilt of the sword he held in his left hand remains. The statue bears a rare inscription naming its sculptor: "Menas of Pergamon, son of Aias."

The very natural-looking head of Alexander the Great also dates from the second century BC. Some believe it was carved to decorate the renowned "Altar of Zeus" at Pergamon (the altar is now in Berlin). This head is a copy of the fourth-century BC original, by the renowned sculptor Lysippus. Alexander has a slightly tilted head, round eyes with heavy eyelids, and an open mouth that doesn't show his teeth. Gentle lines, deep furrows on the forehead, and the overall natural rendering of the face are characteristic of Hellenistic Pergamon sculpture.

Look for the third-century BC statue of the satyr Marsyas. Marsyas isn't stretching — he's tied to a tree by his arms, his face contorted in terrible pain. According to myth, Marsyas, provoked by peasants, invented a flute and challenged Apollo to a musical contest. Marsyas lost the contest, and Apollo hung him from a branch and skinned him alive. Though Marsyas is usually portrayed alone, this statue was found in a group, next to Apollo…with a slave by his side, ominously sharpening his knife.

• The next couple of halls are dedicated to…

Roman Sculpture

Although of lesser importance, a few of these statues stand out for their intricate work--, like the city goddess, Tyche, and the statue of a cloaked athlete (some say he was a wrestler). Likely from the gymnasium at ancient Tralles in the first century AD, the muscular young man with the playful smile relaxes against a column, having just finished his exercise.

Look for the beautifully shaped caryatid — a support column carved as a woman. Dressed in a traditional gown, she looks well suited for her architectural role.

As you walk into the connecting wing, note the interestingly realistic Roman portrait busts and the second-century statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

The next hall is marked by a reclining river god (second century AD). Brought to the museum from Ephesus, this is Oceanus, a personification of the river thought by ancients to encircle the world. He's shown here as an old man, but his arms still ripple with muscle.

• Past the river god, you enter the last exhibition hall, with statues of gods and demigods.

You've now seen the best of the Museum of Archaeology. If you're getting museumed out, head for the exit and make your way to the Tiled Kiosk Museum.

Or consider a detour upstairs to see artifacts from…

Ancient Troy and Byzantium

• To go upstairs, backtrack to the lobby dedicated to Osman Hamdi Bey, just before the Alexander Sarcophagus. Head up the stairs and pass through the hall with a bronze statue of Emperor Hadrian to find the annex.

Start by touring the humble exhibit of artifacts from the ancient city of Troy. At the end of this long hall, dip into the section to the left, which displays findings from a tumulus (ancient burial mound). Then backtrack to the end of the Troy exhibit, and take the stairs (across from the tumulus exhibit) down to the mezzanine level. Halfway down the stairs is an exhibit of Byzantine artifacts. Follow the zigzag tour route past a few interesting items, including part of the impressive chain the Byzantines pulled across the mouth of the Golden Horn to block enemy fleets (to your immediate left as you enter); fine Byzantine church frescoes; and massive Byzantine water pipes carved out of marble and caked with lime deposits. You'll also have views down into the atrium, where you can see a replica of the facade from the Doric Temple of Athena at Assos (580 BC).

At the bottom of the far staircase is the entrance (and exit) for the Byzantium exhibit (on the ground level, WC nearby), which may be worth a few minutes if you have the interest for even more late Roman and Byzantine artifacts. You'll emerge near the gift shop.

• As you leave the Museum of Archaeology, the small, older building directly ahead of you — fronted by a gorgeous two-story colonnade, and to the right of the little park and café — is the…

Tiled Kiosk Museum

The word "kiosk" comes from the Turkish word köşk, meaning "mansion" or "pavilion." This kiosk contains some of the finest examples ever assembled of Selçuk, Ottoman, and regional tiles. As you tour the sumptuous collection, keep in mind that in Turkey, "tile" (çini; chee-nee) refers to a high-quartz-content material that can be used to decorate architectural surfaces (with flat tiles) or to create functional vessels (such as bowls, vases, and cups). While much of what you'll see inside might be called "ceramics" or "pottery" in English, Turks consider them all "tiles."

The collection is displayed on one easy floor, so you can treat it like eye candy, lingering only at your favorite pieces to read the fine English descriptions.

The steps leading up to the entrance are in the center of the lower gallery, hiding behind the stone wall with the barred window. The Arabic inscription above the doorway explains that the building was constructed in AD 1472, during the reign of Mehmet II (the Conqueror) — roughly 20 years after the Ottomans had taken Constantinople from the Byzantines. The building represents the earliest stages of Ottoman civic architecture and is the only one of its kind in Istanbul dating from this period.

As you step into the lobby (its floor is covered in glass to protect the original pavement), head for the large map on the opposite wall, which shows the historically important tile-manufacturing regions in Turkey and throughout the Middle East and Asia.

• The lobby is flanked by two small rooms. Enter the room on the left, which contains some of the oldest objects in the exhibition.

Selçuk Tiles

This room is dedicated to the early tiles of Selçuk (the Turkish empire before the Ottomans) and Middle Eastern origin. As you enter the room, the case in front of you displays Syrian and Iranian pieces; the one behind it has some fine examples of Selçuk pottery.

At the end of the room, on the right wall, are decorative tile pieces with colored glaze from a 13th-century mosque. This turquoise-colored glaze is still in use, although only a few master potters remain who can apply it correctly. On the opposite wall are star-shaped wall tiles with animal and floral designs. Dating from the 13th century, these are from the summer palace of the Selçuk sultans in Konya (central Turkey).

• Return to the lobby, and take the door to your left into the main hall, where you'll see…

More Tiles and Ceramics

The hall is filled with Selçuk, Anatolian, and Ottoman treasures. The objects that look like vases (in the larger case in the center) are ceramic lamps. These 16th-century oil-burning lamps, from the tile-making center of İznik, were hung from the ceilings of mosques by those little handles. They were probably the best available lamps in the market at the time.

The colorful circa-1430 prayer niche was brought from a mosque in Konya. Its pieces are fired with colored glaze.

An annex off the main hall displays curiously designed 18th- and 19th-century ceramics from Çanakkale (a city on the Dardanelles).

• Now walk to the end of the room, across from the entrance.

Find the two glazed plates, displayed in the side walls, across from each other. Dating from AD 1500, these are two of the finest surviving pieces of İznik tile — frequently showing up in reference books as textbook examples of Turkish tiles.

• Walk past the plates, and go through the doorway on your left, which opens into a highly decorated room.

The walls contain color-glazed tiles and intricate gold designs known as "gold embroidery." It may be a little over-the-top to today's eyes, but it was the height of style in its day. At the end of the room, on the left corner, is a beautiful hidden fountain.

The room to your right displays Kütahya tiles. The town of Kütahya (south of the Sea of Marmara) began making tiles during the 18th century, using techniques similar to those of the master potters at İznik but never quite matching their quality.

For the real deal, head into the final room, with masterpiece blue-and-white İznik vessels from the early 15th century.

• When you're done in the Tiled Kiosk Museum, exit back into the courtyard and turn right. Head toward the entrance gate. Just inside the gate, on the right-hand side, are stairs leading up to the…

Museum of the Ancient Orient

This small collection offers an exquisite peek at the ancient cultures of the Near and Middle East. Most of what you'll see here comes from Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (parts of present-day Iraq and Syria). On this one-way loop you'll meet Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians (all of whom were sovereign in the Middle East), as well as the Hittites (who ruled today's Turkey) — peoples who paved the road to modern civilization. For more on these peoples, see this page's sidebar (if you're viewing this on a phone, it's at the bottom).

• The entry area offers some maps and other posted information worth skimming for a background understanding of the "Ancient Orient."

Walk through the first room of the museum — stopping to see the Babylonian sundial (on the left) — and head for the doorway on the right (next to the adorable little sphinx). Turn left into a corridor, and take a moment to enjoy the tile friezes lining the walls.

Babylonian Friezes

These tile friezes once decorated the gate of the ancient city of Babylon (located in today's Iraq). The colorful designs of lions, bulls (which, thanks to stylized perspective, look more like unicorns), and dragons (up top, looking like snakes with lions' paws in front and eagles' feet in back) represented Babylon's mighty gods.

• Beyond the friezes, at the end of the corridor, you'll emerge into a room with artifacts from…

The Bronze Age and the Assyrians

The marble head of Lamassu — a half-human, half-bull Assyrian creature — guards the doorway. Turn left and tour the collection clockwise. First you'll see early Bronze Age objects from the Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations. If you know your prehistory, you'll notice that Anatolia and Mesopotamia were technologically advanced, progressing through the metal ages (such as the Bronze Age) thousands of years ahead of continental Europe. So while a Mesopotamian sword was made around 3000 BC, its European counterpart wouldn't have been created until 1000 BC.

Continuing around the room, you reach a small showcase with weight and measurement units used in Mesopotamia, including the talent, mina, and shekel. Using these units, along with accurate scales, the Mesopotamians developed the first formal monetary system, based on the weights of gold and silver.

Keep going, into the collection of Assyrian objects. The two tall, freestanding statues of kings (ninth century BC) were carved from basalt; although the shorter statue is unfinished, the big one shows fine detail, with cuneiform script pressed into his uniform.

• For more cuneiform, head back toward the corridor, then take the first left into the collection of…

Cuneiform and Steles

On the back wall is a group of five steles — small pillars used to commemorate major events. The cases on either side of the steles display cuneiform tablets. The wedge-shaped script is the world's first writing system, invented 5,000 years ago by the Sumerians (of southern Iraq) and developed into a syllabic alphabet by their descendants, the Assyrians.

The case on the left traces the progress of cuneiform script. At the bottom left is one of the oldest tablets in the museum (2700 BC). The nail-shaped object nearby is actually an inscribed piece. To its right, the item shaped like a roll of paper towels chronicles the acts of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, describing the temples he built and the reconstruction of Babylon's city walls.

The case to the right of the steles holds interesting tablets, such as the Ur-Nammu law, a legal code of ancient Mesopotamia dating from 2050 BC. Another tablet records the Assyrian kings' genealogy, while others list sacred marriage rites, poison remedies, and the court verdict for a man who put off an engagement. There's also a resume and job application, a book of proverbs, and a steamy love poem that conveys the timelessness of passion ("My groom, lover of my heart / Your beauty is unquestionable, sweeter than honey. Lion, my heart's treasure… / Let us take joy in your beauty").

Notice the "cursed stele" on the wall (to the left of the doorway to the next room). This eighth-century BC stele records the will of an Assyrian palace administrator, Bel-Harran. He tells about a city that he founded and a temple he constructed and dedicated to the gods. He declares that his citizens will be protected and exempt from tax. And at the end, he tacks on a curse to scare away vandals: "I pray that the great gods of Assyria destroy the future of whoever might destroy my words and my name, and the gods shall have no mercy on them." Maybe that explains how this stele has survived intact for 2,700 years.

• Continue into the next room. On the right, notice the long army of knee-high Munchkins marching along the wall.

Assyrian Soldier Friezes

The first few of these Assyrian troops carry taxpayers' money on the trays balanced on their heads. At the front of the line (at the opening in the wall) is a highly decorated basalt altar from Cappadocia, in central Turkey. The altar dates from the fifth century BC. Both the reliefs and the altar have Aramaic text — a "newer" style of writing that replaced cuneiform. Aramaic was also the language spoken by Jesus Christ and most other New Testament figures.

• After a quick look around in this room, backtrack through the previous room (with the cuneiform tablets and steles). From there, turn left into the main corridor and follow it to its end, into a room with artifacts from…

The Hittites

The Hittites once controlled a big chunk of Anatolia, reaching their peak in the 13th century BC. The huge relief on the wall depicts a king praying to Tarhunza, the Hittite storm god. Although the king stands on a tall mountain, he still can't reach the height of the gigantic god. Tarhunza was also the god of plants — he carries grapes in one hand and wheat in the other. His curly beard and hair, as well as the flares on his skirt, reflect Assyrian influence, while the helmet is Hittite-style. The horns on the helmet are a barometer of his divine importance: The more horns, the more important the god.

• Go through the doorway on the right, and look to your right. A small case displays the exhibit's highlight, the…

Kadesh Treaty

These few clay fragments are a record in cuneiform script of the world's oldest surviving peace accord: the Kadesh Treaty. This document, created in 1283 BC, ended the decades-long war between the Hittites and the Egyptians. Even the United Nations recognizes the importance of this early peace agreement: A large copy of the treaty is displayed at the UN headquarters in New York City.

The text was initially engraved on silver tablets that have been lost to time. Three ancient copies exist. The version you see here was found in the archives of the Hittites' capital, Hattusha (100 miles north of present-day Ankara). It's written in Akkadian cuneiform, the language of diplomacy at the time.

Egyptian King Ramses II and Hittite King Hattusili III each had their own copy of the treaty — and each version claims victory for that copy's owner. But otherwise, the copies are similar, and they include many elements still common in modern-day peace agreements, such as provisions for the return of prisoners and refugees, and a mutual-aid clause. The treaty ends with a curse: "To whoever acts against these words, may the thousand gods of the Land of Hatti and the thousand gods of Egypt destroy his home, his land, and his servants." These final words dictate that the treaty's conditions would be honored by the kings' successors forever. After the Kadesh Treaty, the Middle East enjoyed uninterrupted peace for seven years — which, back then, was a pretty impressive run.

• Our tour is finished. Avoid the curse — leave in peace.

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Getting There

The museum complex is inside the outer wall of the Topkapı Palace complex, at Osman Hamdi Bey Yokuşu. You can reach it from outside (conveniently near the Gülhane tram stop), or from inside the first courtyard of the Topkapı Palace (from near the Hagia Irene church, follow the signs downhill on the lane).

Getting In

Pass through the complex's big entrance gate and find the ticket seller to the left. After the security check, go through the turnstile: The Museum of the Ancient Orient is directly to your left; the Tiled Kiosk Museum is ahead on the left; and the main Museum of Archaeology (where this tour begins) is ahead on the right.

All three museums (which share one entry ticket) are covered by the Museum Pass Istanbul.

Eating Options

An outdoor café hides among trees and columns on a pleasant terrace overlooking Gülhane Park (between the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Tiled Kiosk Museum, limited menu, may close in winter). The Museum of Archaeology has a small coffee shop serving sandwiches and cookies.

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Lale Surmen Aran and Tankut Aran are the authors of the Rick Steves Istanbul guidebook.