10 Ankara Museums You Must See

Ankara museums are one of the must-see places in the city that you must visit when you travel to Ankara. Ankara, which offers a historical overview of the cultural, social, economic and political spheres of Turkey, is in fact the first place where museum activities began in our country. Museums of Ankara, which allow you to observe the periods of our country in historical chronology, are located throughout the city in various areas. The number of museums in Ankara that have been opened to preserve the cultural heritage and valuable traces that shed light on history is approximately 75. If you happen to be in the capital Ankara, we have compiled 10 museums that you must visit. Let’s take a look at the list together. Here are the museums in Ankara that you must see…

1. Gordion Museum

We are on our list of Ankara museums you must see with Gordion. The Gordion Museum, which was established in 1963 near the village of Yassihöyuk in Ankara Polatlı, exhibits collections of ancient bronzes, Hittite, imported Greek ceramics, Hellenistic and Roman works.

The museum also includes collections of seals and coins found in Gordion, a Roman mosaic discovered during the excavation of the foundations of the village of Kayabashi, and the tomb of Galata. Some of the works are exhibited in the garden of the museum. You can visit the Gordion Museum in Ankara, which has become one of the most important museums in Turkey with its laboratory, image and information hall, indoor and outdoor exhibition hall added in the 1990s.

2. Ethnographic Museum

Ankara Ethnographic Museum, which is one of the first museums established during the republican era of Turkey, is one of the must-see museums in the city. Samples of Turkish art from the Seljuk period to the present day are exhibited in the Ethnography section. A wide variety of artifacts representing Anatolian art can be seen, such as objects collected from different regions of Anatolia, folk clothes, handmade jewelry, clog patterns, embroidery, carpets and rugs.

So, what else awaits us in the museum? Bows from the Ottoman period, arrows, flintlock pistols, guns, swords and yams, Turkish tile and Kütahya china, objects related to mysticism and sect, as well as plates from fine examples of Turkish written art are also in this museum.

The most important works of the museum are examples of Turkish woodworking from the Seljuk period to the present day. The museum also has a specialized library containing works related to Anatolian ethnography and folklore, as well as art history.

3. Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

If you come to Ankara, be sure to visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, which was chosen as Museum of the Year in Europe in 1997 and is one of the few museums in the world. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, one of the most important museums in Ankara and Turkey, is located in Atpazarı, Ankara’s oldest settlement and commercial center, in two Ottoman buildings on the edge of the outer wall of Ankara’s castle. The museum was first created at the request of Atatürk in Mahmut Pasha Bedesten and Kursunlu Han.

In the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Anatolian Archeology, Since the Paleolithic Age, Neolithic, Old Bronze Age, Assyrian trading colonies, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian periods, Karain, Chatalhoyuk, Hadjilar, Kanhasan, Beise Sultan, Alakahoyuk, Kültepe, Achemhoyuk, Bogazkoy Gordion, Various the collections found during the excavations of Pazarly, Altyntepe, Adilchevaz and Patnos are shown in chronological order.

4. Museum of Chengel Khan Rahmi M. Kocha

Gaining attention as Ankara’s first industrial museum, Chengel Khan also housed the shop owned by Koç Holding founder Vehbi Koç when he started his business life. In 2005, the building was taken under protection and opened to the public as a museum. The Chengel Khan Rahmi M. Koch Museum is used to support research in industrial history. More than 4,000 objects are exhibited in the museum in 32 rooms, revealing the past of many industries, from maritime to road transport, from aviation to medicine.

5. Museum of the War of Independence

The building of the 1st Grand National Assembly of Turkey, located in Ulus Square, is one of the structures of the national architectural period, which served as the 1st parliament between 1920 and 1924. The building, which then continued to function as the headquarters of the Republican People’s Party and the School of Law, opened its doors in 1961 as the Museum of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and in 1981 as the Museum of the War of Independence. The museum’s collection includes personal belongings of Atatürk and his deputies, ethnographic materials, independence medals, military tools and equipment, Teshkilat-i Esasie Kanunu drawings, communications equipment such as a telephone and a Morse printer. On the other hand, in the museum you can see oil paintings.

6. Republican Museum

The building of the Museum of the Republic of Ankara, located on Cumhuriyet Street in Ulus, was built in 1923 as the Hall of the Republican People’s Party. However, in 1924, when the 1st parliament building was not enough, the purpose of this building was changed and it became the parliament building. Before 1960 II. The building, which is used as the parliament building, has been opening its doors since 1981 as the Republican Museum.

The museum displays the personal belongings of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Ismet İnönü and Celal Bayar, the first three presidents of Turkey, various stationery used in parliament, minutes of parliament meetings and one sample each from the parliament attendance logs. The museum also displays artifacts related to Atatürk’s principles and reforms.

7. Ulukanlar Prison Museum

The Ulucanlar Prison Museum, one of the most colorful museums in Ankara, is on the 7th place in our list. Ulucanlar Prison was a prison where mental criminals and political criminals served their criminal sentences from 1925 to 2006, where the bitter history of Turkey passed. The museum has courtyards displaying detailed information about journalists, writers, poets, and politicians who served 81 years in prison for their thoughts, personal belongings received from their families, and photographs taken during their imprisonment.

The museum library, on the other hand, houses books written by unforgettable names of Turkey’s political history and important publications from different periods. The library, which is a historical archive with court records of period names, minutes, and first editions of publications that are hard to find today, is one of the must-see places in the museum.

8. AIT Museum of Natural History

The MTA Natural History Museum, which is the first natural history museum in Turkey, has been open for service since 1968 under the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration. The museum includes geological, mineralogical and paleontological studies and studies carried out by the MTA Institute. On the other hand, it is possible to visit the scientific and technical research and materials made by the scientific faculties in the museum.

9. Air Force Museum

We continue our list of Ankara museums with the Air Force Museum, officially opened by Sabiha Gokcen, adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Turkey’s first female pilot. It is very pleasant to visit the Ankara Air Force Museum, which contains a rich collection of all kinds of aircraft, weapons, ammunition and ground defense equipment in service with the Turkish Air Force. In the museum you can visit aircraft models, information about the world history of aviation, bomber technology, flight simulators, real experience in the cockpit of a fighter, military radars, aircraft engines, military reconnaissance and training aircraft.

10. State Museum of Painting and Sculpture.

We complete our list of must-see museums in Ankara with the Ankara State Museum of Painting and Sculpture. The museum is housed in a 1927 neoclassical building. The museum has three fine art galleries, workshops of painting, sculpture and ceramics, where national and international exhibitions are held annually, where collections that make up works of Turkish painting are exhibited.

The building also houses a restoration workshop. In addition to the works exhibited in 6 halls, the museum has a library, an oriental hall and a theater and concert hall. At the same time, this building also hosts the Ankara State Opera and Ballet, private artistic ensembles of the Ministry of Culture, concerts, film and folk dance performances and conferences.

Let’s take you here to discover the unknown about the Grand Palace Mosaic Museum, Istanbul’s hidden gem.

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