Tekirdag is a settlement with important findings of museum value. In order to evaluate these works, the first museum activities in the city date back to 1967. When Tekirdag Museum first opened in the Deniz Kulubu Building, the calendars show May 8, 1967. The Deniz Kulubu Building was a building belonging to the Physical Education Regional Directorate at that time. The museum's stay until it moved to its current building lasted 10 years.

After the building used by Tekirdag Museum today, which was built in 1927 as the Governor's Mansion, was transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 1977 for the purpose of turning it into a museum, the restoration of the building began. As a result of the prolonged work for various reasons, the building could only be opened to the public as Tekirdag Museum on December 28, 1992. The museum building, which went through another restoration process, started to provide service again in April 2012 with improved physical facilities.

The 1st and 3rd floors of the three-story building have halls where archaeological and ethnographic artifacts of value for museums are exhibited. The 2nd floor of the building is designed for administrative work. The garden of the museum, descending in terraces, is reserved for the exhibition of historical and cultural assets with a monumental identity. In addition, a part of the garden hosts a small tea garden designed for visitors to relax.

Hall of Stone Works

The Hall of Stone Works, which is located on the ground floor of the museum, is adjacent to the wide hall that welcomes visitors to the museum. The display detail of the Naip Tumulus findings covered with glass in the middle of the Hall of Stone Works, which has a wide and long hall; Along the walls of the hall are panels with information about the objects exhibited and the regions where they were obtained.

The Stone Works Hall of the museum contains sculptures and steles that are well-preserved examples of their type. These monumental findings were obtained from the settlements of Apri (Kermeyan), Byzante (Barbaros), Heraion (Karaevli Alti) and Perinthos (Marmara Ereglisi), which are the archaeological sites of Tekirdag.

Among the exhibits, a section in a glass section that features a mannequin of Kersepleptes, thought to be one of the Thracian kings, is noteworthy. There are evaluations that suggest that Kersepleptes was not a powerful king in the sense we understand him, but one of the Odyssians acting on behalf of a more powerful structure. Among the grave findings of Kersepleptes obtained from the Karaevli Harekat Tepe Tumulus, the burial chest belonging to Kersepleptes is a special one. The findings here include a purple royal dress decorated with gold-plated beads, a Dionyssus crown depicting an ivy branch, a royal crown depicting an oak branch, a royal ring and Kersepleptes' sandals.

It should be noted that a coin minted from various metals according to the status of the Thracian nobles was placed under the tongue of the dead, with the belief that the deceased would pass by giving this coin to the officer waiting at the gate of heaven. The skeletal remains in the front of the glass case where the animation is located are also related to these findings.

The "measuring stone", which is thought to have been used to measure various volumes of liquids on marble in the Stone Works Hall, where sculptures and steles are predominant, represents a different function.

The Naip Tumulus findings, positioned in the middle of the Stone Works Hall and surrounded by glass on three sides, also contain objects belonging to the concept of this hall. The Naip Tumulus excavations were initiated by the museum directorate in 1984. The Naip Tumulus is positioned as a dramos, a tomb chamber descended by a nine-step staircase. Among the findings dating back to the 4th century BC (350 BC); there is a marble burial bed, a banquet table, and two coffee tables in the tomb chamber. Small finds include silver bowls, silver ladle, silver strainer, bronze lamp, bronze lamp stand, bronze shield, bronze horse harnesses, and gold buttons.

The inscription on the silver tray among the finds reveals information about who the tumulus was built for. In addition to this information, which was determined to belong to a Thracian prince named Teres; other finds are valuable in terms of revealing Teres' life story. The scene on the table top, the vessels, and the depiction of an ikhnemuon (mongoose) on the shield cover indicate that this person served with Alexander the Great's army in Egypt in 331 BC.

Teres, the son of Odysseus King Kersepteples, found in the Karaevli Harekat Tepe Tumulus, is thought to be the prince of the region encompassing the Ganos Mountains, including the Naip Tumulus, and is known to have gone to Egypt with Alexander the Great's army. Given the dating of the Naip Tumulus, Teres is thought to have been part of a large-scale demobilization of Alexander the Great's army in 324 BC.It is thought to have returned with is.

The 2nd floor of Tekirdag Museum is allocated for administrative services.

As we go up the stairs to the 3rd floor, we are greeted by a floor mosaic obtained from the Vize district of Kirklareli and dating back to the 6th century. Although most of it cannot be reached, the bird depictions on the mosaic are enough to give clues about how magnificent the whole could have been.

The first of the doors in the wide hall at the end of the stairs opens to the Archaeological Small Artifacts & Ethnography Halls, and the other to the hall belonging to the Tekirdag Room arrangement.

Archaeological Small Artifacts Hall

The Archaeological Small Artifacts Hall is a long and wide rectangular hall that coincides with the Stone Artifacts Hall we came across on the first floor. The hall provides access to the Ethnography Hall with a connection surrounding the stairwell along the east wall of the museum. In the middle of the hall, there are small glass cases where objects with a similar theme are exhibited.

The Archaeological Artifacts Hall contains artifacts from prehistoric times to the Thracian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods.

The objects exhibited in the glass cases positioned on the walls of the hall and panels with information about the archaeological sites where the findings were obtained are located. These exhibitions include Perinthos Rock Tombs, Perinthos Sarcophagi, Hayrabolu Hacili Tumulus, Marmara Ereglisi Toptepe Tumulus, Karaevli Tumulus, Menekse Catagi Excavations and mother goddess vessels obtained from the region's prehistoric finds, examples of earthenware-bronze and glass pots and pans, diadems, burial materials, metal and marble statuettes, tips of weapons such as spears and arrows, examples of jewelry, fibulas, etc.

While the findings reveal the identity of their region, they also provide valuable information to establish the relationship between other sites in Thrace and similar examples in the Balkans, especially in Bulgaria.

The eastern wall of this hall of the museum is reserved for the coin collection, and is divided into two frames for the display. The examples in this section are quite rich.

The long wall of the Archaeological Small Works Hall facing the garden direction (south) is dedicated to the display of rich examples of marine archaeology of a city like Tekirdag that breathes with the sea. Underwater research in Tekirdag dates back to 1994. Tekirdag Museum Directorate started underwater research in Altinova, Barbaros, Karaevli Beach, Tunca Camp, inside Tekirdag Port and Marmara Ereglisi coasts, which are thought to be the ancient port cities of Tekirdag, with the contributions of ASAG (Archaeological Underwater Research Group).

The "Fairy Wreck" findings are at the beginning of this section. The Foaming Rocks located in the ancient inner port of Perinthos in Marmara Ereglisi district and the Fener Area to the west have historically posed dangers for sea vehicles. Underwater research conducted around Onercik Rocks in the Harmancik Lighthouse area, 800 meters from the shore, has led to the discovery of numerous shipwrecks. Among these shipwrecks, the Tile Shipwreck, examples of which are exhibited in the museum directorate, provides findings from the 16th century.

The ship, which was probably carrying tiles from the Italian city of Faenze (Faenze is famous for the "faience" and "majolica" type ceramics it produces and gives its name to), followed the coast and probably sank to the Ottoman capital Istanbul after hitting the Onercik Rocks near Marmara Ereglisi. It has been determined that the exact equivalents of the Tile Shipwreck samples exhibited in the Tekirdag Museum were used in the Ottoman Palace.

The findings, which belong to one of the amphora-laden ships that set off from the ports in the Ganos region of Tekirdag and are called the "Amphora Shipwreck" due to the large number of well-preserved amphoras, have a value related to Tekirdag being a port city. This value is not only due to the fact that it has settlements belonging to port cities. It also has a special place because the presence of the Ganos seal on the amphorae found in the Ganos Shipwreck indicates that the products carried in these amphorae are the heritage of a special culture by being subjected to a geographical marking-branding.

Ethnography Hall

The Tekirdag Museum Ethnography Hall is connected to the Archaeological Small Works Hall on the 3rd floor of the museum through a passage. The glass-fronted section on the left of this connecting corridor is dedicated to examples from the weapon collections from the past to the present. Examples of firearms from various periods, ranging from swords, axes, daggers, shields, can be seen in this exhibition section.

On the right of this connecting corridor, on the wall opposite the weapon collection, the Tekfurdagi Sanjak (Tekirdag Sanjak) is exhibited as a reflection of pride in the late Ottoman period and the administrative system in the Ottoman Empire. ExhibitionThe date "Tekfurdagi 21 Tesrinievvel 1338" (Tekirdag 21 October 1922) is noted on the plate.

The display case connecting this corridor to the L-shaped ethnography hall displays examples from Tekirdag's weaving culture. This section, where a woman at a loom is animated with the help of a mannequin, contains references to Karacakilavuz weaving in particular.

Across from the main corridor of the museum's ethnography section and at the very end is the exhibition that visitors will most enjoy approaching, with a depiction of a circumcision room, ethnographic objects and mannequin animations.

Along the wall of this hall leaning against the stairwell; Tekirdag women's and men's clothing and accessories, terracotta glazed vessels made during the Ottoman period, examples of silver jewelry, and a display case with bath sets are displayed. The other wall of the corridor is reserved for the display of old Tekirdag photographs, each with 4 photographs on 4 separate panels.

Tekirdag Room Exhibition

It is located on the 3rd floor of Tekirdag Museum. The Tekirdag Room arrangement is entered from the wide hallway where the 3rd floor stairs reach and is positioned right across from the stairs. The room, enriched with traditional objects, gives clues about Tekirdag home life in the 19th century, while the narration was strengthened here by means of animation with mannequins.

Garden Arrangement

The garden is accessed from the ground floor of the museum by stairs that open to the ground floor. The garden descends in terraces and these terraces, which are accessed by stairs, display monumental features; Architectural examples from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods are included.

Especially the Perinthos Sarcophagi obtained from Marmara Ereglisi are examples that immediately stand out. In addition to the sarcophagi, gravestones, inscriptions, relief depictions, columns of various sizes, marble statue examples, milestones, etc. can be seen in this terraced exhibition garden.

Another arrangement that allows visitors to the museum to take a breather in the garden is the tea garden arrangement, which includes a Tekirdag square fountain and fountain from the Ottoman period. Visitors can take a breather and sip something while watching the view of the Marmara Sea from the garden during this last leg of the museum tour.

Entrance Fee

Entrance Fee: Free
Opening Time: 08:00
Closing Time: 17:00
Box Office Closing Time: 16:30