Fossils at Çankırı Museum attracts tourists

ÇANKIRI

A centuries-old mansion, which was turned into a museum eight years ago in the central Anatolian province of Çankırı, welcomed over 30,000 visitors last year.

The building, constructed during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II, served as a government office for nearly 80 years and as a courthouse for 27 years. After a restoration in 2017, it was transformed into a museum.

The museum, which consists of three sections — natural history, archaeology, and ethnography — houses various fossils from families like rhinoceroses, giraffes, horses and elephants, including jawbones, body skeletons and skulls. Among the most remarkable fossils in the museum is the saber-toothed tiger fossil.

Muharrem Ovacıklı, the Director of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, stated that the natural history section of Çankırı Museum is one of the rare places in Türkiye.

Ovacıklı explained that fossils excavated from the Çorakyerler Vertebrate Fossil Site in the city center are exhibited in the museum's natural history section.

"Fossil findings dated to 8-10 million years ago can be visited at Çankırı Museum. The museum hosted 24,376 visitors in 2023, and this number has exceeded 30,000 in 2024. The Tuz Festival and the Tourist Salt Express trips held in our province have contributed to the increase in visitor numbers," he said.

Ovacıklı also mentioned that the museum consists of three sections, each featuring important works. In the archaeology section, one of the most important artifacts is the İnandık Vase, whose original is housed in the Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. The replica of the İnandık Vase, which depicts the sacred marriage ceremony of the Hittites, is displayed in the Çankırı Museum and is one of the key pieces of the archaeology section.

He also stated that in the ethnography section, artifacts reflecting the history and culture of the province and the lifestyle of the people are exhibited, with one of the most important pieces being the "serpent wrapped around the cup," which is today used as a symbol of pharmacy.

Ovacıklı emphasized that the museum’s ethnography section also features important elements of Turkish history, such as the Independence Road, Çankırı's intangible cultural heritage represented by the Yaren culture, Çankırı cuisine and dining culture. "In the natural history section, the saber-toothed tiger fossil, dated to 8.5 million years ago, is one of our most significant artifacts. All our fossils have been excavated from the Çorakyerler Fossil Site in Çankırı," he added.