ISTANBUL TOURIST PASS®
WORK WITH US
OTHER LINKS
CITY GUIDE
POPULAR ATTRACTIONS
Daily Tours
Services
Are you ready to have a great time and witness different cultures in one of the world's largest museums? The Istanbul Archeological Museums is one of the best places to visit in Istanbul. It has many objects from the pre-Islamic periods of Anatolia and Mesopotamia's Greek, Egyptian, and Arabian Peninsulas.
It is very easy to visit this memorable place with the Istanbul Tourist Pass! The collection of the Istanbul Archeological Museum will impress you with its uniqueness. Do not leave Istanbul without visiting witness to the cradle of civilizations.
Check out our Guided Tours Timetable and add Istanbul Archeological Museums in your Istanbul plans!
Mobile ticketing - No need for printed voucher, we're digital!
Duration - 90 Minutes Check Time table to see starting times.
Skip the ticket line - No lines!
Instant confirmation - Istanbul Tourist Pass holders do not pay admission.
Live tour guide - English
Highlights
Statue of Hermes
Statue of Aphrodite
Archaic Temple Pediment from Assos
Ancient Greek Exhibition
Siloam Inscription
Virgin Mary Relief
Roman Emperor II. Valentine's Statue
Mari Governor Puzur Ishtar
Sarcophagy Porphyry Stones of Byzantine Emperors
The original text of the Treaty of Kadesh, signed in BC 1258
Mesopotamian Statues
Babylon Reliefs
Palmyra Reliefs
Bust of Marcus Aurelius from Rome
A panel from the Ishtar Gate in Babylon
Kybele Statue from Bitínia
Nippur, the Ancient Egyptian Measure of Length
Includes
Entrance to Istanbul Archeological Museums
Guide
Covid-19 precautions
Safety - All areas that customers touch are frequently cleaned
Social - Distancing is maintained in museums
Mask - Wearing mask is mandatory during museum visit
Limited Visitors - To reduce crowds, the number of visitors is limited
Contactless - No need for a printed voucher, we're digital!
The Istanbul Archeological Museums are among the largest museums in the world, with over one million artifacts from various cultures. Since you can see many objects from the pre-Islamic periods of the Greek, Egyptian, and Arabian Peninsula of Anatolia and Mesopotamia, this museum is one of the best places to visit in Istanbul.
It was established as the Imperial Museum at the end of the 19th century by the painter and museologist Osman Hamdi Bey. Istanbul Archeological Museums' collection includes artifacts from civilizations within the borders of the Ottoman Empire, from the Balkans to Africa, from Anatolia and Mesopotamia to the Arabian Peninsula and Afghanistan.
Monday and Tuesday: NO TOUR
Wednesday to Sunday: 3:00 PM
The approximate duration is 90 minutes Please meet your guide at the meeting point 10 minutes before the tour start time.
Click for Meeting Point's Picture.
View TimetableThe tour starts in front of the Carpet Museum (Halı Müzesi), opposite the entrance to Topkapı Palace. Please meet the guide there.
Take the T1 Bağılar - Kabataş tram and get off at Sultanahmet station. The meeting point is an easy five minute walk away, behind the Hagia Sophia Museum.
Get DirectionsSkip-the-line is available only with a certificated tour guide.
Istanbul Tourist Pass holders do not pay admission.
You can not enter the museum without tour guide.
Istanbul Archaeological Museum, is located in the main building of the facilities of Istanbul Archaeological Museums near the other units as Tiled Kiosk and the Museum of the Ancient Orient. Istanbul Archaeological Museum, which is one of Turkey’s first museums, is a legacy from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic. Although the first emergence of the idea of the museum dates back to the time of Mehmed the Conqueror, its actual realization was with the establishment of the Imperial Museum in 1869. The Hümâyun Museum, which consists of archaeological artifacts collected until that day in the Hagia Irene Church, formed the basis of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. While visiting Istanbul Archaeological Museum you may also stop by Hagia Irene Museum which has a special place for the history of the city. Saffet Pasha, the Minister of Education of the period, made personal efforts to bring works to the museum, and at the same time, one of the teachers of Galatasaray High School, Edward Goold, of English origin, was appointed as the museum director. In 1872, the Minister of Education Ahmed Vefik Pasha re-established the Hümâyun Museum, which had been abolished for a while, with the help of German Dr. Phillip Anton Dethier. As a result of Dr. Dethier's work, the Hagia Irene Church was insufficient for the newly arrived works, but a new building could not be built due to financial difficulties. The "Tiny Pavilion", which was built during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, was converted into a museum and added to the museum complex in 1880. It took time for the museum to become world-renowned. In 1881, Osman Hamdi Bey, the son of the grand vizier Edhem Pasha, became the director of the museums, and the attempts to find artifacts to be displayed in the museum gained momentum.
By having the Istanbul Tourist Pass®, you can visit more than 60+ attractions in Istanbul. You can save huge amount of time and money by not waiting in the long queues or paying fees at the entrances of the museums or for other facilities and activities. You can buy the Istanbul Tourist Pass®️ for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 days. So many attractions are available with Istanbul Tourist Pass®️ such as Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia, Dolmabahçe Palace, Sapanca Lake daily tour, Dinner on the Bosphorus, Istanbul Airport Shuttle etc. included in the pass. For more details and updated attractions available with the pass can be found on website.
No, this attraction cannot be accessed directly by presenting the digital Pass at the museum. You need to enter with the tour guide. Also This tour is combined with Museum of the Ancient Orient and Tiled Pavilion Museum.
You can find meeting location at "Hours & Meeting" section, our guides carry a white flag with the logo of Istanbul Tourist Pass®
You can find tour hours at "Hours & Meeting" section. Please meet your guide at the meeting point 10 minutes before the tour start time.
Istanbul Archeological Museum is open every day, from 09:00 in the summer and to 19:30 in the evening. In the winter season, it opens at 09:00 and closes at 17:30.
4.8 out of 5 stars
Istanbul Tourist Pass® has an average rating of 4.8 /5 from 475 reviews
Read all traveler reviews →
You can have the chance to see many of the works you read in the books in this wonderful museum, which provides an extraordinary experience for history buffs. It is one of the most important landmarks of Istanbul, in a building that dates to the Ottoman.