Archaeology Museum (Arkeoloji Müzesi)
South of Konak Sq. in Bahri Baba Park (main entrance up the hill from Konak Sq.)
About
This place exhibits an impressive collection of ancient and Roman artifacts recovered from area excavations, including Bergama, Iasos, Bayrakli (Izmir's original settlement), and Izmir's Agora. A service path leads you to the gate of the museum grounds, which are full of wondrously oversize amphoras dating to the Hellenistic period, and columns and capitals arranged around the gardens as impromptu seating. The lobby contains a helpful map of Turkey indicating which regions belonged to which kingdoms -- a must for understanding the historical evolution of the country and for appreciating the artifacts presented in this and other exhibits. Upstairs is a chronological exhibit of pottery, ceramics, and glass, as well as funerary objects and the reconstruction of a 3rd-millennium-B.C. tomb. Larger stone and marble statues take up the lower floor, including statues of Poseidon, Demeter, and Artemis taken from the altar of Zeus in the Agora, and a river god that ornamented a fountain at Ephesus.
