Aksaray Museum

Aksaray Museum tells the story of Aksaray, the gateway to Cappadocia, from the Neolithic to the Ottoman period in chronological order. Museum work began in 1969 in the Zinciriye Madrasa in the city centre; the museum moved to its present site in 2006 and reopened with a renewed display in 2014.

With 15,639 objects gathered through purchase, donation and excavations within the province, it deserves to be your first stop before exploring the area: it gives context to what you will see at Aşıklı Höyük, Acemhöyük and Ihlara Valley.

The building

The three-storey building was designed in an eclectic style inspired by Anatolian Seljuk tomb towers and the fairy chimneys east of Aksaray. It has about 10,200 m² of open and 2,400 m² of covered space, and many pieces are displayed in the garden.

• Archaeological objects: 6,432
• Coins: 8,387
• Ethnographic objects: 822
• Total: 15,639 objects

Highlights

The collection runs from the aceramic Neolithic to the Ottoman period. These are the pieces not to miss:

The Aşıklı skull: the earliest known brain surgery

A 10,500-year-old skull from Aşıklı Höyük, bearing traces of the earliest known brain surgery, is the museum’s most important object. Nearby cases show obsidian weapons, bone tools and a carnelian necklace buried as a grave gift.

The mummy hall

Child, adult and cat mummies from Ihlara Valley and Çanlı Kilise are the museum’s most popular display. Two of the 12 Byzantine-era mummies are cats.

Acemhöyük and the Assyrian Trade Colony Period

Pottery, seals and seal impressions from the Acemhöyük excavations, ongoing since 1989, show Aksaray’s place in an international trade network 4,000 years ago.

The Aksaray Stele

In the garden, the Aksaray Stele is the lower half of a stele with a relief of the Hittite Storm God and a Luwian inscription (88×99×39 cm). The inscription is associated with Kiyakiya, a Late Hittite king who ruled the area in the 8th century BC.

Other collections

Neolithic–Chalcolithic pottery and stamp seals from the Musular and Güvercinkayası mounds, a Phrygian bronze cauldron, Hellenistic and Roman glass and grave stelae, Seljuk and Ottoman ceramics from the Hankah excavation, and an upstairs ethnography section (traditional dress, carpets and weapons) complete the collection.

Getting there from Neva Apart

Neva Apart is in Aksaray city centre, a few minutes’ walk from the Zinciriye Madrasa and the Grand Mosque; the distances below are measured from our aparthotel.

The museum is on Konya Caddesi, about 3 km from the city centre — a 7–10-minute drive from Neva Apart, also reachable by city bus.

Tips for your visit

Allow 1–1.5 hours. Visiting before Ihlara Valley or Aşıklı Höyük makes what you see on site much more meaningful. Don’t skip the garden display.

Opening hours and admission fees change seasonally; please check the official sources of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (muze.gov.tr, kulturportali.gov.tr) before you set off.

Read more in our Aşıklı Höyük guide and our history of Aksaray.

Other places nearby

• Zinciriye Madrasa – Built in 1336 under the Karamanids, with a four-iwan courtyard plan and castle-like crenellated walls — the only historic madrasa still standing in Aksaray.
• Aşıklı Höyük – Central Anatolia’s first known village, lived in by 30–35 generations between 8200 and 7400 BC: early farming, terraced mud-brick houses and the earliest known brain surgery.
• Çanlı Kilise and Rock-Cut Settlement – Near Akhisar village, a 10th–11th-century Byzantine church and a rock-cut settlement of courtyard mansions facing Mount Hasan.
• Acemhöyük (Purušhattum) – Seat of a “Great King” in the Assyrian Trade Colony Period, identified with Purušhattum of Akkadian and Hittite texts — one of Anatolia’s largest mounds, with the Sarıkaya Palace.

Sources

• Kültür Portalı – Aksaray Müzesi (T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı)
• Wikipedia – Aksaray Museum
• T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı – Müzeler ve Ören Yerleri

Image credits

• The new building of Aksaray Museum – Ingeborg Simon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
• Gallery of finds from Aşıklı Höyük in Aksaray Museum – Ingeborg Simon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
• Grave stelae in the garden of Aksaray Museum – Ingeborg Simon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
• Gallery of Cappadocian mummies in Aksaray Museum – Ingeborg Simon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons