The best museums Istanbul

History. The Istanbul Modern project began in 1987 with the first international exhibition of contemporary art, now known as the Istanbul International Biennale. In 2003, the 4th warehouse on the Galata pier, near the Mimar Sinan Academy of Fine Arts, hosted the 8th Istanbul Biennale and attracted attention. After Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the then Prime Minister, had given his approval for the reassignment of the site, the dry goods warehouse belonging to the Turkish Maritime Organisation was transformed into a temple of modern art.

Visit. While waiting for the end of the construction of the new Karaköy building, the museum is temporarily located at Beyoğlu The central staircase from the ground floor, with a video room and a photo exhibition, provides access to the first floor painting collections. The latter, most of which are private, include paintings by Turkish artists inspired by the Western style. The collections are changing to achieve a resolutely modern style. Upstairs, visitors are invited to have a drink in a café with a superb view of the Bosphorus. It is also possible to eat there, as the evening menu is much more elaborate and therefore more expensive. In the museum area you will find many welcoming terraces to drink tea after your visit. A museum not to be missed!

This museum is located in the heart of the historic city, a few steps from the old covered market. What makes it unique is that it was built in such a way as to directly integrate the mosaic pavements discovered in the courtyard of the former Byzantine Grand Palais. This complex would be one of the most important preserved today. The quality of these remains, dated from 450 to 550, is remarkable. The subjects covered concern daily life, nature or mythology.

Located in the garden of the Topkapı Palace, this museum is highly recommended for archaeology lovers. Several renovations have been made to enhance some of the museum's pieces. When we learn that the museum was awarded a prize by the Council of Europe in 1991 for the centenary of its foundation, we are not surprised. The neoclassical style of the museum was built by the architect Alexandre Vallauri, the son of a French pastry chef, in 1881 at the request of Osman Hamdi Bey, the father of Turkish museology. It opened its doors under the name "Müze-i Hümayun" (Imperial Museum) in 1891. It is said that the architect was inspired by the sarcophagi of Alexander the Great and the Weeping Women to give the façade the silhouette we know today. Expanded several times, it contains a large collection of pieces amassed from the four corners of the empire, more than a million objects representing almost all eras and civilizations.

Main building. It rises on two levels. Impressive, the first level is that of the sarcophagi and statues. The first pieces on display come from the royal necropolis of Sidon (Lebanon): sarcophagi of the family of King Tabnit, sarcophagus of the Mourners, sarcophagus of Lycian, sarcophagus of the Satrape, considered a masterpiece of Ionian art... the major piece is the so-called Alexander sarcophagus, dating back to the 4th century BCC. Representing scenes of battle between the Macedonians and the Persians, one had believed to find (finally) the tomb of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedonia). It turned out that it was in fact that of Abdalonymos, friend and king of Sidon enthroned by Alexander, but the name remained. The sarcophagus of Meleager is equally impressive. There follow sections with busts, including those of Hermes, Emperors Constantine I the Great and Marcus Aurelius, statues and statuettes including those of Emperors Hadrian and Augustus, Alexander the Great, Zeus, Poseidon, Artemis and Apollo, and bas-reliefs. Among the beautiful sculptures, one can admire the one of the ephebe of Tabnit, king of Sidon. On the first floor are exhibited works in carved or sculpted stone giving an idea of the daily life in Antiquity: Anatolian gourds and jugs from the ancient Bronze Age, clay statuettes from ancient Ionia, red-figured vases from the^5th and 6th centuries, coins, seals, medals... There is also a library containing more than 70,000 books.

Secondary building. Here, the four levels are reserved for thematic exhibitions. We start with Istanbul through the ages, including a section on Thrace and Bithynia. This is followed by Anatolia and Troy, Cyprus and the Middle East (Syria-Palestine).

Museum of Ancient Oriental Works (Eski Şark Eserleri Müzesi). It is in fact a wing of the museum to which it belongs. Located just to the left, the building was built in 1883, also on the initiative of Osman Hamdi Bey to become the School of Fine Arts (Sanayi-ı Nefise). It was later turned into a museum and was completely renovated in 1974. Works from Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Arabia are displayed on the first floor. There are also objects from Sumerian and Akkadian cultures. The tablets of the Treaty of Kadesh (1269 B.C.), the oldest historical document relating to the sealing of an agreement between Hittites and Egyptians, the colossal statue of a Neohittite king discovered at the site of Zincirli, and the stele of the Akkadian king Naram-Sin are among the unique works of art in the museum. Also worth seeing are the glazed brick reliefs depicting bulls and snake-headed dragons from the Ishtar Gate in Babylon, from which the famous processional route decorated with lions started. This is one of the eight gates of the city, representing various real or imaginary animals. The museum also has important archives, including more than 75,000 cuneiform tablets.

Earthenware Kiosk (Çinili Köşk). Built in 1472 under Mehmed II the Conqueror, much older than the other two buildings in the museum, it was originally designed as a pavilion for the sultan's relaxation in the Topkapı Palace compound. It is one of the earliest examples of Ottoman civil architecture in Istanbul. Mehmed II had three kiosks built in the palace gardens in three different styles - Persian, Greek and Turkish - symbolizing the three worlds of which he was now the master. The Tiled Kiosk, built in the Persian style, is the only one that remains today. Its decoration was entrusted to master ceramists from Khorasan, who used monochrome techniques in the Timurid tradition. It was from this pavilion that the Sultan watched his pages play djirit, the ancestor of polo. The Earthenware Kiosk was refurbished and attached to the Istanbul Archaeological Museum in 1981, and now displays an outstanding collection of Iznik and Kanakkale ceramics, as well as Seljuk works. The museum has over 2,000 pieces. The façade of the pavilion, with its marble portico supported by 14 columns and its gallery covered with ceramic tiles, is worth a visit. But the building itself is interesting.

On the avenue (continuity of Cumhuriyet Caddesi), it is distinguished by its pinkish architecture and colour. The building where Ataturk lived from 1918 until 16 May 1919 was acquired by the Istanbul municipality on 28 May 1928. This house, where Ataturk began his thoughts on the struggle for national liberation, opened his doors to the public on 15 June 1942 under the name of the Kemalist Revolution Museum to highlight his personality and his radical reforms. A new exhibition of exhibition spaces is undertaken by the municipality as of May 19, 1989. An important part of the museum's collections is the personal clothing and objects of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Photographs relating to his civilian and military life, written documents of his hand are also exposed.

It is a private museum born of the will of Mr. Rahmi Koç, son of the founder and powerful industrial, Mr. Vehbi Koç (1901-1996). The Koç family is one of the best known in the country, with Sabancı (the SON we see everywhere). It is almost impossible to find a Turkish who does not know it. As for the museum, he has elected a home in a historic building, the Lengerhane, which serves as a main building, while an exhibit room is attached to it by a transparent ramp. Probably built in the time of Ahmed III, the building was a foundry and produced essentially marine anchors, hence its name De literally meaning in Turkish «house of anchors». Restored under Selim III, the building was then made available, after the proclamation of the Republic, to the State monopoly for tobacco and alcohol. Devastated by a fire in 1984, it was acquired by the Museology Koç Museology and Culture Foundation, restored and opened to the public on 13 December 1994.

The majority of the Museum's objects were selected from the private collection of the Rahmi Koç industry. These are genuine scientific, mechanical and industrial machinery, tools and objects, or their models. In 2001, the museum acquired a 93 m long submarine. Originally from Portsmouth Shipyard (1944), he served at the end of the Second World War and was transferred to the Turkish army in 1971. His visit is arranged according to the schedule displayed at the entrance. It is useful to note that the site is private, we can organize visits, provided that it is a group of at least 10 people.

Sea lovers will be able to visit the tiny fishing museum on the coast. Contact the fishermen. Original and picturesque!

These ancient Byzantine churches have been transformed into a mosque and a museum. Murad III converted the building into a mosque in 1591 under the name of Fethiye Camii (Conquest Mosque). The central part of the building is still a place of Islamic worship. The former chapel is a museum attached to Sainte-Sophie (visit on authorization). Its walls are covered with 14th century mosaics. We can see the famous bust of Christ Pantocrator surrounded by his twelve disciples.

This museum is the work of the Suna-Inan Foundation Kıraç. He gave the art world and the city of Istanbul an invaluable gift. On five floors, the museum occupies a completely refurbished 1893 building, where works of art from the couple's private collection are displayed. The works are exhibited by theme. The first floor is structured around the Weights and Measures of Anatolia and the Earthenware and Ceramics of Kütahya. The first part is presented as the only collection on this scale in the field: it contains various instruments used in Anatolia over the years. Kütahya's collection includes more than 400 pieces. If you have visited the Topkapı palace beforehand, the second floor will be a perfect addition. In a spacious and airy setting, paintings on the Ottoman Empire are displayed. You can see, spread mainly over the last two centuries, portraits of the sultan but also paintings of the orientalist current, the last one being the imaginary reflection of the painters of the time, since no one was allowed to enter a harem. The foundation of many fantasies in the West, Western literature has been strongly imbued with them, thus mixing imagination with reality. The painting called The Turtle Tamer is presented as the most expensive in the collection. As for the top three floors, they are reserved for occasional exhibitions designed to showcase young talents, representing various trends.