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Izmir Archaeological Museum

Izmir Archaeological Museum

Izmir's main archaeological museum, founded in 1924 and in its modern Konak building since 1984, showing finds from Smyrna, Ephesus, Pergamon, Miletus and other Aegean sites.

About the museum

Izmir's archaeological museum was first founded in 1924 in the abandoned Ayavukla (Gözlü) Church in Basmane, under the name Asar-ı Atika Müzesi, and opened to the public in 1927 after three years of gathering objects. Atatürk visited it in 1931, and in 1943 it took the name Izmir Archaeological Museum. In 1951 it moved to the former National Education Pavilion in Kültürpark.

As more and more finds arrived from Izmir and its ancient neighbours, a new building became necessary, and the present museum in Bahribaba Park in Konak opened in 1984.

The displays cover discoveries from excavations at Bayraklı (ancient Smyrna), Ephesus, Pergamon, Miletus, Klazomenai, Teos and Iasos, all throwing light on the history of western Anatolia. Objects are shown in the galleries on the second and third floors of the three-storey building and in the museum garden, while stores, a restoration laboratory and a library occupy the rest.

For anyone exploring the Aegean's ancient cities, it makes a helpful overview before or after visiting the sites themselves.

Tips

  • The İzmir Culture and Art Factory in Alsancak also has an archaeology and ethnography museum run by the same directorate; check which collections are where.
  • Combine with a visit to Kemeraltı bazaar nearby.

Questions

When is Izmir Archaeological Museum open?

According to the Ministry’s listing it opens at 08:30 and closes at 18:30. Open every day.

Can I buy tickets for Izmir Archaeological Museum on this site?

No. This site sells no tickets. Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia and Dolmabahçe Palace are sold on our sister sites; for Izmir Archaeological Museum, buy at the ticket office or on the Ministry’s official e-ticket system.

Where is Izmir Archaeological Museum?

Izmir Archaeological Museum is in İzmir, Türkiye — Bahribaba Parkı İçi,No:4.

Nearby

İzmir

Ephesus Archaeological Site

One of the great cities of the ancient world, a UNESCO site with the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre and centuries of Greek, Roman and Christian history.

İzmir

Bergama Acropolis (Pergamon)

The hilltop capital of the Attalid kings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a steep theatre, sanctuaries and the great altar's setting.

İzmir

Ephesus Museum

One of Türkiye's most visited museums, in Selçuk, with the famous Ephesian Artemis, Eros statues, coins, jewellery and a garden bazaar of old crafts.

İzmir

Ayasuluk (St. John) Archaeological Site

The hilltop site above Selçuk where the Basilica of St. John was built over the apostle's tomb, an important witness to early Christianity near Ephesus.

İzmir

Ephesus Terrace Houses

Seven well-preserved Roman houses on the slope of Bülbül Mountain, where Ephesus's elite lived among mosaics, frescoes and underfloor heating.

More museums in İzmir

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