Antalya Museum

Antalya Museum
The founding and development of the Antalya Museum is unusual. On 25 March 1919 the Italians occupied Antalya. One or two archeologists who came to Antalya with the occupying forces started to collect the antique items found in the course of their exploration of the region and transporting them to the Italian Consulate. At that time educator Suleyman Fikri Bey opposed to the Italians who claimed they were doing this in the name of civilization. The small abandoned mosque next to the Tekeli Mehmet Pasa Mosque was rearranged and the foundation of the Antalya Museum was thus laid. When the Italians evacuated Antalya the works of art they had collected were transported to this little museum. After 1937 the Fluted Minaret Mosque was used as a museum. However, more and more ancient remains were being unearthed and exhibited. Today's Antalya Museum on Konyaalti (now called Org.Kenan Evren Bulvari) on the ouskirts of the city, and which reflects contemporary museum concepts, is one of Turkey's largest museums, with 14 exhibition halls and an open air gallery. It covers an area of 7000 m² and has 5000 works of art are exhibited. In addition a further 25 - 30.000 artifacts which cannot be displayed are in storage.