BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Visiting Turkey: Museums of Archaeology Dazzle

Turkey museums boast mosaics, statues and more

The business of archaeology is booming these days in Turkey. For some sites, there is no longer a “season” for excavations; they continue year round. With each new discovery, this mantra is repeated: “More tourists will now visit the site.” To house all the fresh finds, new museums are being built. So I recently hit the road to see several of these.

suppililiuma

Statue of King Suppiluliuma in the Hatay Archaeological Museum. Photo: Mark Wilson.

While the archaeology museum in Antakya (ancient Antioch) was formerly in the city center, the new Hatay Archaeological Museum has been built north of the city past the Grotto of Saint Peter. Its displays are arranged chronologically with excellent presentations of the nearby sites of Tell Atchana and Tell Tayinat. The “Smurf-like” statue of King Suppiluliuma grabs one’s attention. The Roman period is represented with a well-preserved milestone from the period of Vespasian. Pride of place still goes to the Late Roman mosaics from the villas and bathhouses of nearby Daphne. However, their restoration has been shrouded in controversy with charges of an incompetent job. Compared to the mosaics in the other museums that I visited, the colors in these were dull and lifeless.

In Gaziantep I stopped at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, the world’s largest mosaic museum. Although this museum is now several years old, I had only visited the old mosaic museum. Rescue excavations at Zeugma in the late 1990s on the Euphrates River brought to light outstanding mosaics from its Roman villas. These are now displayed in an attractive, well-lit fashion. I almost missed the mosaic with the iconic face of the gypsy girl, featured on all of the museum’s souvenirs. It is tucked away in its own corner room, so fortunately a guard directed me into its darkened corridor. This museum is a must-visit while in the area.

zeugma-mosaic-museum

The Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep is the world’s largest mosaic museum. Photo: Mark Wilson.

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At Şanlıurfa I was astounded by the massive new archaeology museum there. Again arranged chronologically, artifacts from the Paleolithic site of Göbekli Tepe comprise many of these displays. The dioramas depicting life at that time were visually appealing to Turkish children visiting the museum. The artifacts from Late Antiquity were especially interesting because Edessa, the city’s ancient name, was a center of Syriac culture. The dress of the figures was definitely eastern, and their inscriptions were in Syriac. I was disappointed that no displays featured the rich Jewish and Christian history of Edessa, chronicled decades ago by Judah Segal. Several years ago construction work south of the museum revealed a number of mosaics. To their credit, local officials preserved the mosaics and built a large, dome over them. Unlike the mosaics in the museums at Antakya and Gaziantep, the mosaics in Urfa’s Haleplibahçe Museum are in situ. Displayed near the exit is the Orpheus mosaic repatriated from the Dallas Museum of Fine Art.

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Mosaic depicting the Amazon queen Melanippe in Urfa’s Haleplibahçe Museum. Photo: Mark Wilson.

My visits to these super-sized new museums raised a comparison with the Ephesus Archaeology Museum that reopened earlier this year. Rather than build a new structure to house the multitudinous artifacts from Ephesus, Turkey’s most visited archaeological site, local authorities simply remodeled the old, small museum. The result is a disappointing display of familiar pieces with minimal explanation; for example, “Roman period.” Given that the Austrian Archaeological Institute has been excavating in Ephesus for over a century, it is surprising that the signage is not in German as well as in Turkish and English.

It is wonderful that the signage in these museums is now in English. But why isn’t a native English speaker brought in to proofread these? Frequent grammatical errors dotting these signs create an unnecessary annoyance. One object’s mistranslation brought a smile to my face in the museum at Urfa: “Wave Tunes.” The artifact was in a display of cooking utensils, and the Turkish phrase “Ezgi Taşı” should have been translated “Grinding Stone.”

Because of the unstable security situation along the Syrian border, few foreign tourists are visiting southeastern Turkey now. Our BAS trip to the area was cancelled two years ago. The only group that I saw was a small American one in the Gaziantep Museum. I purposely traveled by public bus between and in these cities and walked extensively in their streets. I never felt unsafe at all. Normal life continues, although many Syrian refugees can be seen in the cities. Hopefully the marvelous artifacts in these new archaeology museums will soon be seen by more than just local people.


mark-wilson-2013Mark Wilson is the director of the Asia Minor Research Center in Antalya, Turkey, and is a popular guide on BAS Travel/Study tours, including the upcoming “Sailing the Mediterranean with Paul.” Mark received his doctorate in Biblical studies from the University of South Africa (Pretoria), where he serves as a research fellow in Biblical archaeology. He is currently Visiting Professor of Early Christianity at Regent University and Associate Professor Extraordinary of New Testament at Stellenbosch University. He leads field studies in Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean for university, seminary and church groups. He is the author of Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor and Victory through the Lamb: A Guide to Revelation in Plain Language. He is a frequent lecturer at BAS’s Bible Fests.


More from Mark Wilson in Bible History Daily:

Tradition or History? BAS Travelers Encounter Both on Rhodes

Ancient Phoenix: The Harbor That Might Have Been

Destroying a Temple

Money Talks through Ancient Coins

Of Pirates and Virgins: Greek and Turkish Scholars Colloquiating

Pella: A Window on Survival


 

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2 Responses

  1. Dale says:

    I’m guessing that the reason the Jewish and Christian archaeological finds are minimized is that the Turkish government/religious environment does not value these traditions.

  2. DS Bazil L Johnson says:

    Prof Wilson, I am researching the 7 Epistles to the 7 Churches. I bought your book and is utilising it in my doctoral thesis at UNISA where you completed your doctorate. Is there anything new about the Seven Churches, please? When is your next study-tour to Patmos and the 7 Churches? I would like to be part of it. Thank you. DS Bazil Johnson

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2 Responses

  1. Dale says:

    I’m guessing that the reason the Jewish and Christian archaeological finds are minimized is that the Turkish government/religious environment does not value these traditions.

  2. DS Bazil L Johnson says:

    Prof Wilson, I am researching the 7 Epistles to the 7 Churches. I bought your book and is utilising it in my doctoral thesis at UNISA where you completed your doctorate. Is there anything new about the Seven Churches, please? When is your next study-tour to Patmos and the 7 Churches? I would like to be part of it. Thank you. DS Bazil Johnson

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