Istanbul: Archeology Museum.

People have been asking me for tips for traveling in Istanbul. The one recommendation I put forth at the beginning is that they should stay in the "old town" section of the city. That's where a lot of the sites to be seen are located. The perfect example of that is the stretch of blocks where you have the Ayasofya Museum, the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Harem, and... The Archeology Museum.

The Archeology Museum is in the same park area as Topkapi Palace. It's usually a little less crowded than Topkapi...

I did the two museums on different days, because Topkapi is just so big. Though, I don't mean to discount the size of the Archeology Museum... As it's three museums in one.

There is a main building, a building featuring Islamic art, and  a third one featuring Oriental art.

Each building stands alone, and has plenty inside to gawk at. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take too many pictures...

But I snuck a few in here and there. :)

This one I was allowed to take, of the bricked murals of lions. But the flash had to be off when I did it. (I never use flash anyways. Ever.)

There were many sculptures and etchings. All very, very old. Most cases, things dated back centuries. But there were a few things that went back to even BC.

And the thing Istanbul is very noted for... Tile!!!

Blues, especially. I love them. Love the design work.

Look at the gold and teal and dark blue! It reminds me of one of my favorite china patterns.

There were also more macabre type things in the museum...

A skeleton. Complete with...

Some of his organs still in him.

A good part of one of the buildings is currently being renovated. So there was a decent chunk I didn't have access to. But it was an enjoyable hours or so, walking through everything.