Mersin Museum

Since the museum, which was first established in the Erdemli District of Mersin, did not meet the needs, it was moved to the east side of the old Public House Building (Cultural Center) built by the Governor of that period, Tevfik Sırrı GÜR, between 1944-1945, and opened to visitors in 1991. In recent years, our country has been hosting museums that will set an example for the world in modern museology, and new museums are added to these museums every day. The new Mersin Archeology Museum was built with this understanding and was opened on May 18, 2017.

The museum tour starts with the Time Tunnel. On one wall of the tunnel, the line that begins in the Paleolithic Period and extends to the Republican Period ends with the portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic. Through the time tunnel, it is passed to the geological heritage sites of Mersin and the fossils section where some examples are exhibited. On the ground floor, the works are displayed chronologically. The Neolithic revolution, agriculture, first villages, Fertile Crescent, Çukurova's relationship with Northern Syria, and the first settlements in the region are summarized on the information boards with the theme of a new period in the Neolithic Human History. With reference to a morning diorama in Neolithic Çukurova and the Neolithic excavations in Yumuktepe and Gözekule in the region, the traces of the primitive agriculture system were tried to be explained with visuals and artifacts.

Kizzuwatna in the Bronze and Early Iron Age; The map of Cilicia and its surroundings, visuals, texts, and artifacts are explained. A Roman Province in Cilicia; In order to show the richness of the Roman period, there is a rich drawing of Roman-Cilician women's clothing behind the display of gold, bracelets, Roman clothing, and accessories. Again on this floor, olive oil work animation and interactive narrations on the screen have become the focus of attention of the visitors. In addition, the small glass windows made in the form of water drops, and fishes, amphoras, the cargo of the sunken ship inside also pleasantly surprise the audience.

The images reflecting the burial traditions in Cilicia, sarcophagi with different features, were tried to be explained with the artifacts found in the salvage excavations carried out by our Museum Directorate. On the ground floor, the story of the cultures that settled in Mersin and its surroundings from the middle ages to the present is told. A short documentary about the Sarıkeçili nomads, who are known to have lived in the Taurus Mountains since the 14th century, is watched with admiration by the visitors.

Goddess Tyche, who is on a coin in the coin section, continues to surprise the audience by speaking.

On the first floor, the archaeological excavation sites, which were carried out with the permission of our Ministry, were introduced. Yumuktepe, located on the southern coast of Ancient Cilicia and in the city center of Mersin today, is a mound that has been inhabited continuously since 9000 years ago. For this reason, the Chalcolithic Period, one of the most important layers of the mound, was presented to the audience as a maquette. Behind the maquette, the "Basketmaker Woman's Tomb" is animated as it was when it came out of the excavation. After the archaeobotanical showcases where Neolithic and Chalcolithic agricultural products were exhibited, the works of the Soli Pompeiopolis excavation section were exhibited. In addition, the poet and astronomer Aratos explains the universe and constellations to the visitors with his life-size projection on the wall.

The finds unearthed during the excavation of the Ancient City of Elaiussa Sebaste, which is also under the responsibility of our Directorate, were introduced with visuals and animations. In the Elaiussa Sebaste section, besides the amphora firing furnace, amphorae, and small artifacts found in the excavation, life was tried to be explained with different visuals and written texts.