Tarsus Museum is an archaeology and ethnography museum in Tarsus,

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

, in southern Turkey. The present location of the museum is in the city's cultural complex known as "75th Anniversary Culture Complex". The complex is in a neighborhood, which is rich in historical buildings like the

Tarsus Grand Mosque Tarsus Grand Mosque () is a mosque in Tarsus, Mersin, Tarsus, Mersin Province, Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography The mosque is at the center of Tarsus in ''Camii Nur'' neighbourhood. It is the biggest mosque of Tarsus. It is close to Saint ...

and St. Paul's Church.

History of Tarsus

Tarsus is a historic city, which was an important settlement and cultural center within

Çukurova Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...

without discontinuity throughout the ages.

Gözlükule Gözlükule is a tumulus within the borders of Tarsus city, Mersin Province, Turkey. It is now a park with an altitude of with respect to surrounding area. History Initially settled in the Neolithic Period, Gözlükule became an important set ...

to the south of the city is a

tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

, which was inhabited during the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

age. During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

lived in Tarsus. Later, the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

and the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

s and the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

controlled the city. During the Turkish era, Tarsus was one of the principal cities of the

Ramazanoğlu The Ramadanid Emirate (Modern Turkish: ''Ramazanoğulları Beyliği'') was a Turkish autonomous administration and a ''de facto'' independent emirate that existed from 1352 to 1608 in Cilicia, taking over the rule of the region from the Armenian ...

dynasty and later of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Museum

The forming of the museum began in the years 1969-70 with the collection of artifacts. In 1971, the museum was established in a 1966-restored building, which was formerly a

medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

commissioned by Kubat Pasha, a 16th-century member of the Ramazanid house. In 1999, the museum was moved to its present building. The museum has over 35,000 objects in its archive including architectural pieces, which were found in and around Tarsus, and artifacts, which were purchased, confiscated or discovered during archaeological excavations. The museum's collection consists of 5,198 archaeological and 1,596 ethnographical objects, 28,176 coins, 376 seals and 6 hand-written books. In addition, there are ten archaeological sites, five natural protected areas, nine historic military buildings, two military memorial cemeteries and 206 religious, cultural or civil constructions including the most notable St. Paul's Church and its well, which fell under the responsibility of the museum's administration. The museum is housed in a two-story building with a mezzanine and a basement, and consists in two big halls, in which archaeological and ethnographical objects are exhibited.

Ethnography Hall

Ethnographic objects belonging to Tarsus and its environment, which are a major part of the culture in Çukurova, are displayed in this hall. The impact of the lifestyle, as the social, religious and the way of thinking of the people lived in the region, on the metal working and weaving is shown here. The handicraft items are designed with great diligence on silver, copper and wood. The cultural object include silver

horse tack Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domestication of the horse, domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as Saddle, saddles, Stirrup, stirrups, Bridle, bridles, Halter, ...

saddlebag Saddlebags are bags that are attached to saddles. Horse riding In horse riding, saddlebags sit in various positions, on the back, side, or front of the saddle. Most attach to the saddle by straps and ties. They can be made from various materia ...

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s, decorative rugs, woman garments, silver headgear, money bags, kitchenware and other objects of the

Yörüks The Yörüks, also Yuruks or Yorouks (; , ''Youroúkoi''; ; , ''Juruci''), are a Turkish ethnic subgroup of Oghuz descent, some of whom are nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia, and partly in the Balkan peninsula. On the Bal ...

and

Turkmens Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...

. The weapons such as

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

s, handguns, swords,

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

powder flask A powder flask is a small container for gunpowder, which was an essential part of shooting equipment with muzzle-loading guns, before pre-made paper cartridges became standard in the 19th century. They range from very elaborately decorated works o ...

field glasses Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

, ceremonial

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

s are from the Ottoman era. Other objects of the social life on display are also silver

tobacco pipe A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber (the bowl (smoking), bowl) for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range ...

s, silver watches, rings,

onyx Onyx is a typically black-and-white banded variety of agate, a silicate mineral. The bands can also be monochromatic with alternating light and dark bands. ''Sardonyx'' is a variety with red to brown bands alternated with black or white bands. ...

rosaries The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

, hand-written religious books and

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and

water pipe Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water deliv ...

s. ;Tarsus Home Corner A typical Ottoman-era household of the region is depicted in the Tarsus Home corner.

Archaeology Hall

In the Archaeology Hall, artifacts which were purchased or unearthed during the archaeological excavations in the region are exhibited in chronological order. The objects span a period of 7,000 years including the

Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

as well as the civilizations of

Archaic Greece Archaic Greece was the period in History of Greece, Greek history lasting from to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical Greece, Classical period. In the archaic period, the ...

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, and

. ;Excavations section From Gözlükule site are Bronze Age artifacts, terracotta objects and kitchenware and bronze tools. Tarsus Cumhuriyet Square finds include bronze furniture leg, terracotta oil lamps, actor figures,

amphora An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

s, mosaics of Tethys, bone tools,

loom weight The warp-weighted loom is a simple and ancient form of loom in which the warp yarns hang freely from a bar, which is supported by upright poles which can be placed at a convenient slant against a wall. Bundles of warp threads are tied to hanging ...

s. Artifacts such as terracotta oil lamps, marble architectural elements, glass bracelets, heads of terracotta figures were discovered at the Roman temple of Donuktaş. Other objects are marble

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

s and oil lamps found in the well of St Paul's church as well as a jug, teardrop bottles,

hydria The hydria (; : hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the Geometric art, late Geometric period (7th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC). The etymology of the word hydria was first noted when it was stamped on a ...

and 1st-century AD artifacts excavated from the Roman mausoleum. ;Chronological artifacts section Artifacts obtained through purchasing are on display in chronological order. These are utensils, cylindrical stone seals, loom weights and containers representative of Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age originating from

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

and eastern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. There are containers in various forms, amphoras,

lekythoi A lekythos (; : lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil, especially olive oil. It has a narrow body and one handle attached to the neck of the vessel, and is thus a narrow type of jug, with no pouring lip; the oinochoe is ...

, and oil lamps from the Hellenistic period. Other exhibits are golden sheets,

diadem A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...

s, earring with

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

figure, golden rings and earrings, bronze

barrette A barrette (American English), also known as a hair slide (British English), or a hair clip, is a clasp for holding hair in place. They are often made from metal or plastic and sometimes feature decorative fabric. In one type of barrette, a cl ...

s, glass jugs, dishes, teardrop bottles, terracotta figures and bronze mini statues, bronze amphoras and handles, scales and daggers of the Roman Empire. Artifacts from the Byzantine Era complete the section. Stone artifacts like marble busts and statues date back to the era between 330 BC and 396 AD found in Tarsus and around.

Stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

s and terracotta graves document the timespan from the 6th century BC up to the 5th century AD in this region. ;Coinage section The rich coinage collection consists of finds beginning from the 5th century BC with

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

and includes coins from the Classical antiquity, Hellenistic period, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic era. ;St. Paul Museum

Location and access

The museum is situated at Muaffak Uygur Cad. 75 Yıl Kültür Merkezi in Tarsus. It is open every day from 8:30 until 17:30 local time but Mondays.

References

{{authority control Tarsus, Mersin Museums in Mersin Province 1971 establishments in Turkey Museums established in 1971 Archaeological museums in Turkey Ethnographic museums in Turkey