Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi) is Turkey's pre-eminent archaeological museum, housed in a restored 15th-century Ottoman bedesten in the Ulus district of Ankara, adjacent to the ancient citadel. Established in 1921 at the instruction of Atatürk and opened in its current permanent form in 1938, it became the first Turkish museum to win the European Museum of the Year Award in 1997. The bedesten was originally built as a commercial warehouse under Sultan Mehmed II; its central domed hall, surrounding arcaded bays, original timber vaulting, and carved stone entrance portal form a remarkable setting for the collections. The permanent galleries follow an unbroken chronological sequence from the Palaeolithic period through the Bronze Age, Hittite and Phrygian kingdoms, Urartian culture, and on to Greek and Roman Anatolia. The Hittite gallery is the museum's centrepiece: life-size basalt orthostat reliefs from Hattusa, Carchemish, and Sakçagözü line the walls, accompanied by bronze divine figurines, ceremonial weapons, and cuneiform tablets from the imperial archive — the largest and highest-quality concentration of Hittite material anywhere in the world. The Neolithic section presents Çatalhöyük finds including the celebrated seated goddess figurine and wall-painting facsimiles. Phrygian metalwork and wooden furniture fragments from the Gordion tumuli fill the adjacent bay. Urartian bronzes, Greek pottery, and Roman portrait busts close the circuit. All labelling is bilingual in Turkish and English; audio guides are available at the entrance desk in English, German, and French. A gift shop near the exit sells scholarly facsimiles, excavation catalogues, and high-quality reproduction objects.