Visiting the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul

 I was really looking forward to this one, to find that 2/3 of it were closed for restoration! Esra led us through the remaining ground floor galleries focused on sarcophagi and Roman statues.


The most amazing of the sarcophagi was the Alexander Sarcophagi, so named because Alexander the Great is one of the images on the side. It is the sarcophagus (or burial chest) of one of his generals. This was quite an unusual find in Lebanon by a farmer, of course. There was an underground chamber or vault containing three sarcophagi - so like an underground cemetery. You judge how well they have been preserved, such that pigments are still visible.



A quite unusual sarcophagus known as the Sad Women features 10 very sad women in different posses; the images around the top are probably a funeral procession. I did not accept one possible explanation being that the women were the professional mourners. They look far too internally sad.


Horses, and charioteering horses, are a very popular Roman motif. We went to a room today for a lecture, in the hotel across the street. Not only did it have a life size black horse lamp stand, it had horses heads as taps in the bathroom, where the water came out of the mouth!


There were oodles of statues to choose from, and we saw so many in Canberra some years ago. I quite liked this one of a (currently) disabled mother carrying on her maternal duties,


Who could not love this little fellow?

An anthromorphic mug

and a collection of people and animals.


and finally, after many exhibits, coffee in the Cafe for Lost Statues.



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