Antalya Museum

The Antalya Museum (Antalya Muzesi) is an archaeological museum in one of Turkey’s most popular resorts. As one of Turkey’s largest museums, it contains thousands of ancient and prehistoric artefacts accompanied by thorough explanations of their history.

History of Antalya Museum

The museum is located to the west of Kaleiçi, Antalya, Turkey. The modern province of Antalya contains dozens and dozens of Hellenic, Hellenistic, and Roman cities and towns as well as many prime archaeological sites. Many of the best artefacts from all of these sites form an integral part of Antalya Museum’s outstanding collection.

The museum was founded as a result of Italian archaeologists removing many treasures from the city centre at the end of the First World War. To prevent this happening, the Sultan’s advisor applied to be voluntary curator of antiquities, and thus first established Antalya Museum to try and collect and preserve what remained.

The museum first opened at the Alaeddin Mosque in 1922 and then the Yivli Minare Mosque from 1937. It moved to its present building in 1972. It was closed for three years between 1982-1985 in order to reorganise its contents.

Today, the museum is made up of 13 exhibition rooms, 1 open-air exhibition area, laboratories, a storeroom, repair shops, a photographic room, a conference hall, administrative offices, a cafeteria, and living quarters for museum officials.

There is talk of a plan for a new museum building to be announced in the future.

Antalya Museum Today

The pieces at the Antalya Museum come from a variety of sites around Turkey and are divided thematically into ’halls’, with each relating to a different period. The museum includes a wealth of statues and sculptures from the Roman period, the majority of which were found during the excavations of nearby Roman cities such as Perge. These astonishing ancient statues are the museum’s most famous exhibits and are responsible for its international renown. The most famous of these statues is undoubtedly the marble Heracles.

There is also a collection of sarcophagi from the Roman period, Roman and Byzantine era mosaics, and a charming children’s section.

Getting to Antalya Museum

From Kaleiçi, Antalya, the museum is a 35 minute walk via Cumhuriyet Cd. and Konyaaltı Cd. By car, it takes around 27 minutes via 100 Yıl Blv, Konyaaltı Cd., or Mevlana Cd.

From the centre of Antalya, the site is reachable in around 15 minutes by car via Adnan Menderes Blv. and 100 Yıl Blv, or 45-50 minutes via 100 Yıl Blv or Konyaaltı Cd.