Aksaray Museum in Turkey

Aksaray Museum brings together archaeological finds from settlements around Aksaray with later historical and ethnographic material from the region. Its chronological displays extend from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period to the end of the 19th century, allowing objects from places such as Aşıklı Höyük, Güvercinkayası and Acemhöyük to be seen within a single regional sequence.

From Aşıklı Höyük to the Bronze Age

Some of the museum’s earliest material comes from Aşıklı Höyük, a Neolithic settlement near the Melendiz River. The site was occupied more than ten thousand years ago and has provided evidence for early settled life in Central Anatolia.

The Aşıklı Höyük display includes stone mortars and pestles, obsidian blades and other tools, bone implements and personal ornaments. One of the best-known finds associated with the site is a roughly 10,500-year-old human skull bearing evidence of cranial surgery. The object provides direct evidence for medical intervention among the settlement’s inhabitants and is one of the museum’s most unusual archaeological exhibits.

Finds from Güvercinkayası represent a later Chalcolithic community. Objects recovered there include stone tools, bone awls and handles, sling stones, spindle whorls, obsidian implements, handmade pottery, hearths and animal figurines. Together they document domestic work, craft production and everyday life at the settlement.

Acemhöyük and Regional Trade

Acemhöyük provides another major group of objects in the museum. The settlement became an important center during the Middle Bronze Age and the period of the Assyrian trade colonies in Anatolia.

The museum holds finds including large storage vessels known as pithoi, pottery, cups, jars, stone axes, bone tools, spindle whorls, buttons and gaming pieces. Fragments of silver ingots and clay bullae also reflect the administrative and commercial activity associated with the settlement.

The archaeological displays continue through the Bronze and Iron Ages and into the Hellenistic, Roman, Late Roman and Anatolian Seljuk periods. The museum also preserves coins ranging from the Classical period through the Ottoman era, including examples struck in gold, silver and bronze.

The Mummy Collection

Aksaray Museum has a dedicated display of human and animal mummified remains associated with the Cappadocia region. The material includes remains recovered from the area around Çanlı Church near Aksaray and from the Ihlara Valley.

The collection contains adult and child remains as well as mummified cats. These finds belong to Christian communities that lived in the region during the Byzantine and later medieval periods. Their preservation differs from the ancient Egyptian tradition commonly associated with mummification and instead reflects local burial conditions and practices in Cappadocia.

Objects found in association with the burials help place the remains in their archaeological setting. The museum presents the mummies as part of the region’s material record rather than as isolated curiosities, connecting them with the churches, settlements and burial areas where they were discovered.

Ethnographic Collection and Museum Garden

The ethnography section shifts from archaeological periods to the more recent social history of Aksaray. Clothing worn by men and women, jewelry, embroidered textiles, purses and household objects illustrate local dress and domestic life. Traditional crafts and objects used during weddings, holidays and other occasions are also represented.

Household material includes wooden furniture, bathing equipment, kitchen vessels and metal containers. Historical weapons such as swords and firearms form another part of the ethnographic collection.

Larger stone and ceramic objects are displayed in the museum garden. These include pithoi, storage jars, sarcophagi, gravestones, architectural fragments, inscriptions and carved stone pieces from different periods.

Museum History and Building

Museum work in Aksaray began in 1969 at Zinciriye Medresesi, a historic madrasa in the city center. The collection was later transferred to the present purpose-built museum, which was completed in 2006. The displays were subsequently reorganized around a chronological presentation of the region’s archaeology.

The three-story building was designed with references to both the monumental tomb architecture of the Anatolian Seljuks and the rock formations associated with Cappadocia. The museum has about 2,400 square meters of enclosed space and a 10,200-square-meter outdoor area.

Public exhibitions occupy several halls and continue into the garden, while other parts of the building contain museum administration, storage areas, a laboratory, library, conference facilities and educational spaces.

Visiting Aksaray Museum

Aksaray Museum is in the Hacılar Harmanı neighborhood of central Aksaray. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism currently lists the museum as free to enter. It is open from 09:00 to 16:30, with the ticket office closing at 16:00, and is closed on Mondays.

Because museum schedules can be revised, especially around public holidays or administrative changes, the Ministry’s official Aksaray Museum visitor page is the appropriate source for checking opening information before a visit.