Çanakkale villagers rush to newly opened Troy Museum

Ömer Erbil - ÇANAKKALE

Locals from several villages of the northwestern province of Çanakkale have been rushing to the Troy Museum in the Tevfikiye village, which recently opened on Oct. 10. Museum director Ali Atmaca told daily Hürriyet they were happy about the high number of visitors coming to the museum every day.

“More than 2,000 visitors are coming [to the museum] every day. Every day for 10 days [until Oct. 20] the museum will be open for free visits. There is a free shuttle from the city center [Cumhuriyet Square of Çanakkale] every day [until Oct. 20]. Women coming from nearby villages in their traditional costumes make us happy,” Atmaca said on Oct. 18.

“Many foreign visitors have also been coming to the museum since the day it opened. It is now an important museum for this region,” he added.

The year 2018 had been introduced as the Year of Troy with the support of the presidency and the Prime Ministry. Throughout 2018, the Çanakkale province is continuing to be a hub for international collaborations, culture, art, science and sport activities.

Authorities believe the Troy Museum is the most permanent heritage of the 2018 Year of Troy to Turkish tourism. The museum is one of the most important contemporary archaeological museums in the world and selected from among more than 150 projects by an expert jury in the National Architectural Design Competition.

The museum, which opened last week, cost a total of 45 million liras (approximately $8 million). It displays around 2,000 artifacts and has more than 40,000 artifacts in its storehouse.

Built on an indoor area of approximately 12,700 square meters at the entrance of the archaeological site of Troy, the height of the museum building is designed to be equal to the pre-excavation height of ancient Troy.

The museum hosts myths and legends of 5,000 years of history and introduces the civilization of Troy to the world by bringing eastern and western cultures together.

Sculptures, sarcophaguses, inscriptions, altars, milestones, axes and cutters, terra cotta potteries, metal vessels, gold pieces, weapons, coins, bone objects and tools, glass bracelets, ornaments, figurines, glass and terra cotta scent bottles, tear bottles and many other special pieces that have witnessed the history of humankind are displayed in the museum.

The museum is divided into seven sections, starting from the entrance floor. The Troas region is introduced on the ground floor of the museum, generally with its archaeological remains. The history of the cities Assos, Tenedos, Parion, Alexandria Troas, Smintheion, Lampsakos, Thymbria, Tavolia and Imbros and information about the archaeological remains of these cities and historical artifacts from these periods are exhibited here.

The Polyxena Sarcophagus, which was unearthed in 1994 and represents the Persian sovereignty in Troas (and the incidents in the Trojan War), sculptures of Roman emperors and the statue of Triton (Kentauros), which was found in Parion in 2012, are also presented to visitors on this floor.

The historical artifacts in the museum are supported with written and visual panels and presented with diorama and animations.