Mosaic Museum

Head Back to Byzantine Times at The Mosaic Museum

Buildings aren’t the only relics that are left behind throughout history, pieces of art are just as important and as telling in terms of the times they were made and what they show. Istanbul is packed with history, no matter where you look, but in terms of art, you may not find a better spot than the Mosaic Museum.

Known more formally as the Great Palace Mosaics Museum, this museum holds the mosaics which belonged to and decorated the Great Palace of Constantinople, of course, the former name of Istanbul. These date back to the times of Emperor Augustus, ruler of the Byzantine Empire. If you need a nudge in terms of how far back in history that is – we’re talking about 610 AC to around 641 AC. Yes, it’s a long time ago!

Now can you see why the Mosaic Museum is so popular? Is houses some of the oldest and most intricate pieces of historical art in the city, if not the world.

About The Mosaic Museum

The most striking thing about the Mosaic Museum isn’t just what you’re seeing and appreciating how old the art really is, but just how well preserved the mosaics are too. The colours are still very bright and vivid, and whilst time has inevitably dulled them just a little, they are surprisingly well preserved.

The Mosaic Museum is home to mosaics which are priceless – you literally couldn’t put a sum of money on them, and they were found during the 20th century excavations of the grounds of the Grand Palace of Constantinople. There are also several mosaic pieces which were found throughout Istanbul, however the majority is from the Grand Palace.

As previously mentioned, most of these mosaics date back to the Byzantine Era, and during this time, mosaics were considered the highest form of artistic expression and decoration. You won’t only find decorative pieces, but you’ll also find scenes depicted through mosaic artwork, including daily life in Byzantine times, and also nods towards mythical legends, which many believed to be true.

Visiting The Mosaic Museum

The Mosaic Museum is extremely easy to visit, as it is located close to the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet. This means you can combine your visit with a variety of other attractions and areas of historical importance, such as the Blue Mosque itself, Hagia Sofia, the Grand Bazaar, Eminonu’s waterside, and several delicious and authentic Turkish restaurants along the beautiful Golden Horn. The view from here at sunset really is something which has to be seen to be believed.

The Mosaic Museum itself sits in the former courtyard of the Grand Palace, which gives you a feel of the history, echoing around every single footstep you take.

There is a small entrance fee for the Mosaic Museum, which currently stands at 20TL. For what you are seeing the value of the mosaic pieces of art, this is a very low entrance fee to pay! The Mosaic Museum is open daily from 9am until 5pm, and you can enter up to half an hour before closing time.

Getting there is super-easy ;as we mentioned before, the Mosaic Museum is located behind the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet. You can take the T1 tram line to Sultanahmet, or you can take the scenic walk from Eminonu, its up to you! If the weather is fine, the walk is very pleasant and will show you the history and culture of this ancient area of the city.

You can combine your time in the Mosaic Museum with the various other attractions in this part of Istanbul. We mentioned Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia, which sit opposite each other, and there are countless other areas to check out around this part of the Golden Horn.

The Sultanahmet area is predictably very busy and touristic, but if you can ignore the tourism side of things, you’ll be able to really picture yourself heading back in town. Sultanahmet might be popular but it hasn’t been taken over in terms of modern coffee shops and malls; it has thankfully retained a lot of its old charm. You will need to avoid crowds and cameras, but this is to be expected. The Mosaic Museum itself is popular but certainly not as high profile as some of the other attractions in the area. For instance, you will need to queue for a while to get into Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace on busy days. You will rarely have a long queue for the Mosaic Museum, and you’ll be able to wander around and explore in your own time, without being rushed.