First, let's learn about the history of this extensive museum. The Istanbul Archaeological Museums is an important establishment that bears the traces of the first museology in Turkey. The interest in collecting historical artifacts dates back to the period of Mehmed the Conqueror. However, the institutional birth of museology started with the establishment of Muze-i Humayun (the Imperial Museum) in 1869. The archaeological artifacts collected in the Hagia Irene Church form the basis for the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. The Imperial Museum was re-established by German Doctor Phillip Anton Dethier, in 1872. However, when a new building had to be built due to lack of space, the Tiled Pavilion was converted into a museum and opened to visitors in 1880.
Turkish museology entered a new period with the assignment of master painter and archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey as museum director in 1881. Hamdi Bey's excavations at home and abroad led to the discovery of world-famous artifacts. A larger museum building is needed to exhibit these artifacts. On this request, the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, a new museum building built by Alexandre Vallaury, was opened to visitors on June 13, 1891.
The building known as the Museum of Ancient Oriental Arts was built by Osman Hamdi Bey as the Academy of Fine Arts and later devoted to museums. The classical building of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums opened in 1891, is a center where many important artifacts are exhibited. Now, let's start exploring and take a journey into the depths of history.