Şanlıurfa’s museum complex ready to open

ŞANLIURFA - Anadolu Agency

Nearly 10,000 objects installed at the museum have been laid out in chronological order, accompanied by visual animations.

The Haleplibahçe Museum Complex, which will open in two months in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, is set to take visitors for a trip back in time.

The complex, built on an area of 200,000 square meters, includes an archaeopark and mosaic museums. It is the first and only museum in Turkey in terms of the number of objects in a closed area. When it is opened to visitors, history aficionados will have the chance to see hundreds of carved rocks with human and animal figures, tombs and inscriptions.

At the entrance to the museum, one can see findings and mockups symbolizing the lifestyles of ancient hunters. The nearly 10,000 objects that will have been installed at the museum have been laid out in chronological order, accompanied by visual animations.

The section where historical eras will be displayed visually is one of the most striking parts of the museum, with visuals depicting the settling, hunting and daily life of the people of the era in question in an underground shelter next to prehistoric era artifacts.

A mockup of Göbeklitepe, which is considered the “zero point of history,” together with artifacts found at the excavations at the nearby prehistoric site, are other striking objects at the museum complex.
 
Valuable mosaics

The museum is home to mosaics covering an area of 1,500 square meters, featuring hunting and war scenes from Amazon queens. Experts have said the mosaics of the Amazon warriors have great value in terms of their technique and art, as well as because their stones originally from the Euphrates River.

The Haleplibahçe Museum Complex will also display the mosaic of Orpheus, which has been returned by the Dallas Museum in the United States after being smuggled abroad. The mosaic depicts Orpheus, known as the “father of poets,” taming animals with its music.

The complex is expected to be a locomotive of Turkish tourism, especially in the region.

Şanlıurfa Gov. İzzet Küçük said Şanlıurfa had received one of the largest investments in the field of tourism in recent years, adding that with a boost from the Kurdish peace process, they expected an increase in the number of local and foreign tourists in the province this year.

The governor said the animations in the museum would enchant visitors, adding that the museum was not merely a place displaying artifacts in a classical order.

“While looking at the objects, visitors will be able to see all the elements of an era thanks to
animations. Especially in the final part of the museum, the Prophet Abraham’s being thrown into fire is being displayed with a 3-D performance. We assure you that visitors of the museum will go back to the age of the artifacts. I believe that they will spend at least half a day in the museum.”

The governor said the museum would open with ab extravagant ceremony in two months.