Now housed in an enormous purpose-built complex on the site of a former textile factory about 4km west of the centre, Turkey's largest museum might also be its finest. It is especially rich in statuary from the Cilician Gates, north of Tarsus, which was the main passage through the Taurus Mountains and an important transit point as far back as Roman times. Note especially the 2nd-century Achilles sarcophagus, decorated with scenes from the Iliad, and the sphinx from Silifke.
The museum starts with a timeline from the Palaeolithic Age to the birth of the Turkish Republic in 1923 and proceeds through a dozen different exhibition halls and spaces. Three films take a look at archaeological sites in Kozan, Anazarbus and Yılankale and help to put finds there in perspective. On no account should you miss the stunning mosaic halls (B3 and B4) with everyone from Eros and Orpheus to Artemis and Noah in attendance. The Roman glass collection is also especially fine, as are the Hittite artefacts and Hellenistic monuments.
