Istanbul Archaeology Museums

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums (İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri) is actually three museums in one complex, all designed by the French-Ottoman architect Alexander Vallaury in the 1890s and 1908: the Museum of the Ancient Orient (Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, and Egyptian artifacts), the main Archaeological Museum (Greek, Roman, Byzantine), and the Tiled Kiosk Museum (Çinili Köşk, a 15th-century palace containing Ottoman and Anatolian Seljuk ceramics).

The complex sits in the landscaped gardens on the northeast edge of Topkapı's outer wall — most visitors to Topkapı walk right past it without realizing. The two crowd-pullers are the Alexander Sarcophagus (a 4th-century BCE Sidonian sarcophagus found at the Royal Necropolis of Sidon, with remarkably vivid scenes of Alexander's battles), and the world's oldest cuneiform peace treaty — the Treaty of Kadesh, signed between the Hittites and the Egyptians in 1259 BCE.

Allow 1.5-2 hours. The complex is in the same ticketing area as Topkapı Palace (and is included in the Museum Pass Istanbul). It's also a great cool-down spot on hot days — the buildings are largely air-conditioned and rarely crowded compared to Topkapı.

Closed Mondays. Combine with Hagia Irene (in the same Topkapı First Courtyard) and the Topkapı Palace main site.