Şanlıurfa Museum

The Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum opened in its current building in 2015, replacing the museum of 1969, and with some 34,000 square metres under roof it is one of the largest in the country, which it needs to be: the province is where the Neolithic sites of Göbekli Tepe, Karahantepe and the rest of the Taş Tepeler cluster are being excavated, and the finds come here. The centrepiece is the Urfa Man - Balıklıgöl statue - a life-size human figure in limestone with obsidian eyes, dated to around eleven thousand years ago and the oldest known naturalistic statue of a person anywhere. Around it are original T-shaped pillars from Göbekli Tepe with their animal reliefs, a full-scale reconstruction of one of its enclosures, finds from Harran and from the reservoirs of the Atatürk, Birecik and Karkamış dams, and material running forward through the Bronze Age, Assyrian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. Next door the Haleplibahçe museum shelters Roman mosaics found on the site, including the Amazon queens hunting panel. Together they are among the best few hours in Turkey.

Highlights

• The Urfa Man - the oldest life-size human statue known.
• The Göbekli pillars - originals with animal reliefs.
• The enclosure reconstruction - a full-scale Neolithic building.
• The Haleplibahçe mosaics - the Amazon hunt panel next door.

When to go

Year-round; it is indoors and air-conditioned, which makes it the sensible thing to do in Urfa's summer heat. Check the weekly closing day.

Good to know

It is very large - three hours is a minimum and most people underestimate it. Labelling is better in the Neolithic sections than later ones. The mosaic museum may need a separate ticket.

Nearby

Balıklıgöl is a short walk; Göbekli Tepe and Karahantepe are day trips from the city.

Key facts