For those who are interested in the history of early civilizations in Anatolia, especially those from the Bronze Age such as the Hitties, a visit to Ankara's Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is a must. Although the entrance fee is a whooping 16TL, but considering the thousands of years of history behind each and every artifacts on display, it is really worth it.
The Museum has a pleasant courtyard, which is dotted with some exhibits.
The entrance to the exhibition hall.
Amongst all the exhibits, this Hittite sun disk, unearthed at the town of Alacahoyuk in Corum Province, is one of my favourite. Nowadays, this sun disk also serves as a symbol of anything that represents something of Turkish - or Anatolian origin, and it is not uncommon to see this design on merchandises in Turkey. Most notable example is the trademark sundisk that appears on the packaging of biscuits, sweets, candies etc. produced by the confectionary firm ETI.
Another interesting exhibit is the crown with three deers on it. Bronze Age artifacts can be so fun.
This looks like something from Mars, but no, it is one of the Hittite artifacts too. After looking at all these exhibits, I am convinced that the Hittites must be a very artistically creative people.
In addition to the sizeable Hittite collections, the museum also has lots of valuable artifacts from other parts of Turkey, including those of the Urartu Kingdom, the Upper Mesopotamia region, etc.
Copyrights@2010. All text and photos by YC Cheng.
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