Antalya Müzesi (Antalya Museum)

Antalya Müzesi (Antalya Museum) Review

The province of Antalya has a rich collection of archaeological sites and their assembled finds means a first-rate collection at the Antalya Müzesi. The star is Perge, statues from which fill gallery after gallery, including one just for the gods, from Aphrodite to Zeus. There are also Turkish crafts, costumes, prehistoric artifacts from the Karian Cave, and preclassical statues from Elmali, with bits of Byzantine iconography and some prehistoric fossils thrown in. One gallery has several fine Roman sarcophagi from the 2nd century AD including a wonderful one illustrating the labors of a steadily aging Hercules. Upstairs are several coin hoardes; the large one from Elmali was recently returned to the museum after being smuggled to the U.S. There is a reasonably priced good cafeteria and a gift shop. If you have the time, walk to the museum from the center of town along the clifftop promenade, which has a fine sea view.