Egyptian obelisk, Istanbul

I’ve never been so excited to see old stuff as I was on Saturday morning when we bought tickets to visit the Istanbul Archeological Museum.  Located next door to the Topkapi Palace (and a stone’s throw from Hagia Sophia) the museum is housed in 3 buildings and has a great presentation of artifacts found both within the city and from around surrounding countries.  Information placards were written in both Turkish and English making the need for an audioguide not necessary. But, being deprived of the audioguide for our tour of the Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia I begged Tim to let me spend the 5 lira to get one. I just love the hunt for the 3 digit number describing the highlights of the museum.  Among the best on show: the Alexander Sarcophagus (pictured above)  so named not for the body inside but for the depiction of Alexander the Great’s battle scenes on the outside. This item is the museum’s prized possession and dates from the 4th Century BC. Among other great finds: the Kadesh Treaty, the first peace treaty ever recorded made between the Hittites and the Egyptians; and the Code of Hammurabi dating to 1750 BC. To check out what we saw at the museum, click on the box above.