Sinop Museumvisitor guide.

Opened to visitors in 1941, the museum became an official officer station in 1945 and a directorate in 1947, relocating to its custom-built building erected in 1970. Temple of Serapis: The temple whose architectural ruins stand in the courtyard garden of Sinop Museum was unearthed through archaeological excavations conducted in the area in 1951. It is a rectangular temple with a sacrificial altar to the south. Excavations uncovered terracotta finds, architectural elements, and statues of Serapis, Dionysus, Heracles, Isis, and Kore. While the specific divinity it was dedicated to was originally unknown, an inscription indicates the temple belonged to Serapis. Interior Exhibition Gallery / Ground Floor: Prehistoric Artifacts Section: Among Early Bronze Age finds (3000–2700 BC) gathered around Sinop and uncovered in 1953 from Kocagöz Mound in Demirci Village, 16 km from Sinop, are terracotta vases with and without handles, footed and non-footed vessels, bowls, cups, plates, pitchers, handled bowls, spindle whorls, necklaces, diverse pottery forms, bone implements, polished stone axes, bronze pins, and spearheads. Between the gallery and Hall 1, diverse Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman coins are displayed, alongside marine amphorae recovered from the Black Sea seabed in the final section, bestowing a distinctive marine character upon the museum. Hall: Classical Artifacts Section: Exhibited in chronological order are Hittite (2000–1200 BC), Phrygian (1200–695 BC), Archaic (650–480 BC), 5th–3rd-century BC, and Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine (330 BC–1453 AD) terracotta jugs, plates, suspended handled and strainer vessels, trefoil-mouthed painted pitchers, 6th-century plates, aryballoi, kylikes, 5th- and 4th-century small tomb finds, gold, bone, and bronze jewelry, Temple of Serapis finds, cylinder seals, gold earrings, finger rings, glassware from both Classical and Roman eras, bracelets, and Seljuk and Ottoman coin hoards. In addition, Hellenistic and Roman sculptures impart exceptional prestige to the classical section. Hall: Ethnographic Artifacts Section: Traditional costumes, hand embroidery, knitting, and weaving specimens from the Sinop region are exhibited alongside jewelry, tiles, porcelain, firearms, bladed weapons, writing implements, mother-of-pearl and ivory inlaid chests, and traditional kitchenware. Upper Floor Carpets and Manuscripts Section: 17th- and 18th-century Kula and Gördes prayer rugs, velvets (çatma), handwritten Quran manuscripts, calligraphy specimens, illuminated bookbindings, and exquisite ivory-inlaid Quran lecterns (rahle) are presented. Icon Gallery: Displays a rich collection of icons reflecting Byzantine artistic traditions. Portraying Christ, Angels, the Virgin Mary, and Saints across various sizes with abundant gold leaf gilding, these icons attract deep international visitor interest on the museum's upper floor. Open-Air Lapidary Display: In the portico and garden, diverse Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman architectural fragments, funerary stelae, sarcophagi, lids, altars, votives, milestones, and lion sculptures are displayed, alongside numerous Islamic gravestones. The Hellenistic Temple of Serapis remains uncovered in 1951 and the 1853 Sinop Naval Martyrs Monument situated in the courtyard lend special historic significance to the garden. One of our nation's earliest museological activities commenced in Sinop in 1921: initially preserved in the Mekteb-i İdadi high school and subsequently assembled in 1932 at Süleyman Müinüddin Pervane Madrasah, these collections formed the core foundation of the museum. DOWNLOAD MUSEUM BROCHURE NEARBY MUSEUMS SINOP HISTORICAL PRISON SINOP ARSLANTORUNLAR ETHNOGRAPHY MUSEUM