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Top 11 artifacts in Turkey’s museums that you should see but probably missed
Top 11 artifacts in Turkey’s museums that you should see but probably missed
From Asia to Europe, Turkey has been the host to many ancient civilizations for thousands of years. With its affluent sources of ancient ruins, Turkey is in the forefront when it comes to historical artifacts. Some of them are not as well-known by tourists as they deserve, like the history’s first love poem and a Viking graffiti in one of the greatest buildings ever built. Click through for the top 11 overlooked historical artifacts in Turkey...
The first love poem and the first peace treaty: The first written international treaty known to human kind, Kadesh, was made between Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II and Hittite King Hattushili III in 1269 BC. The tablet is now displayed at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, where you can also find the oldest love poem, written by the Sumerian queen to the Sumerian king in 2037-2029 BC. “Bridegroom, dear to my heart; goodly is your beauty, honeysweet; lion, dear to my heart,” the poem starts. The museum also houses the world-renowned Alexander Sarcophagus.
One of the oldest instruments in the world: Excavated in 1957 by Turkish archeologists, the sistrum is one of the oldest musical instruments. It is a copper alloy object that is believed to have powerful magical properties. Exhibited at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, in Ankara, it was used in late 3rd millennium B.C, the Early Bronze Age.
A Viking graffiti in Istanbul: Dating back to 9th century, a Viking man engraved the statement “Halvdan was here” on a marble wall beside a railing on the second floor of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia. Discovered in 1964, the runic inscription was published by Elisabeth Svärdström.
8,500-year-old ‘computer’: A wooden notebook excavated from the ancient archaeological site of Yenikapı, in Istanbul. The notebook, likened to modern day tablet computers, was found in one of the ships discovered during the excavation.
Sword of Stephen cel Mare: Dating from the 15th century, the sword of Stephen III of Moldavia resides at the Topkapı Palace Museum, in Istanbul. Over a meter long, the ceremonial sword has the inscription “I voivod Stephen” on it.
King Croesus’s golden Winged Seahorse: The 2,500-year-old brooch in the shape of a winged seahorse is a part of the Lydian Hoard, as known as the Karun Treasure. The brooch, dating back to 6th century B.C., was stolen from the Museum of Uşak in 2005 and was found in the German city of Hagen. It is now on display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.
The Spoonmaker’s Diamond and the Topkapı Dagger: Beside Stefan cel Mare’s sword, there are two more objects in Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace which you can see in a popular heist movie from the heyday of Hollywood. The 86-carat pear-shaped Spoonmaker Diamond, also known as the Kaşıkçı, was first registered by the Ottoman officials in the 18th century. The Topkapi Dagger, which is also from the 18th century, is also on display in the palace. Both objects were featured in the 1960s movie titled “The Topkapi” starring Peter Ustinov. Photo: Images and Stories / Alamy
The Suppiluliuma Sculpture: The sculpture of the Neo-Hittite king Suppiluliuma was discovered by an archeological team under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Timothy Harrison in the Reyhanlı district of the southern province Hatay. Dating back 3,000 years, the significance of it lies in the fact that its eyes were made from a special stone in black and white and then got attached to the 1.5-meter-long sculpture. It is on display at the Hatay Archaeology Museum. Photo: Koraysa / Alamy
The statue of Farnese Hercules: Discovered by Turkish professor Jale İnan in the 1980s, half of the statue was smuggled to the U.S. from the ancient city of Perge, in the province of Antalya. A Turkish journalist, Özgen Acar, saw the statue in the Metropolitan Art Museum in September 1990 and started the process for its return. In September 2011, the statue returned to its homeland and now is on display at the Museum of Antalya.
The Seljuk woman bust: Sculpture in Muslim-dominated cultures is rare, but not non-existent, as can be seen in this 13th century woman bust, which shows that the Anatolian Seljuk civilization had them. The bust can be seen in the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul. Another interesting object in the museum is a marble column on which a Hebrew inscription notes that it was dedicated to Holy Trinity. The column, which is thought to be originally produced many centuries before, was used for the second time in the 9th century in Iraq’s Samarra, then the capital of the Islamic caliphate.
The fishing Eros mosaic: The fishing Eros mosaic was discovered in 2014 during an excavation carried on by the Adana Museum Directorate. The Hippocampus - in the form of half fish-half horse- mosaic was found in the Yumurtalık district of the southern province Adana. The one of a kind mosaic is now on display at the Adana Museum.
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