Antalya Archeological Museum

When we decided that we were going to Turkey but didn't really know where, I bought a guidebook and had a swatch at all the different areas, settling of course for Antalya. The book said that the Antalya Archaeological Museum was second only to a museum in Istanbul, so I put it on the To Do List.

Then when we went to Perge and were advised that the statues that were excavated from there were in the museum, then we definitely knew that we wanted to go because we had seen the city where the statues were found, it would be brilliant to see the statues given we knew their background.

The museum was outstanding. In the reception and just outside the museum, there were several headless statues. Headless because the Christians cut them off when they eventually overthrew the pagans in the 4th century. It's such a shame. But, many of the statues do still have their head, which is good news. The museum has the statues in their own special halls and they are just stunning. It's clear to see why Perge was such a rich city. Not only was it rich, but it must have looked like a movie set! With Greek & Roman Statues everywhere. It was a cracking museum.

The big statue there is of Alexander the Great. The female is Aphrodite, Goddess of Fertility. They also had a Hall of very ornate sarcophagi (sic). When you read the plaques about them, one or two had been recovered from being stolen and sold on the black market.