Tokat Museum – History and Exhibition Order

The Tokat Museum, located in Sulusokak, Tokat, is one of Anatolia’s richest mixed museums, presenting archaeology, ethnography, and numismatics together under one roof. Its origins date back to 1926, when retired teacher Halis Turgut Cinlioğlu began storing historical artifacts in Gökmedrese, a 13th-century Anatolian Seljuk madrasa.

In 2012, the museum moved from Gökmedrese to the Tokat Bedesten (covered bazaar), a historical building thought to have been constructed in the 15th century during the reign of Sultan Mehmed I. After careful restoration and exhibition work, the museum was officially reopened to the public on 18 September 2012.

The Tokat Bedesten Building

The Bedesten, also known as the Arastalı Bedesten, is a fine example of Ottoman civil architecture.

· Structure: Built with rubble stone and brick, with domed units supported by piers.

· Layout: A central covered bazaar section with nine units, flanked by 20 shops in the arasta section.

· Use: Today, its halls are divided into archaeology, ethnography, and coin sections, while the outer garden displays stone artifacts.

Archaeology Hall

The Bedesten section is arranged as the archaeology hall, presenting artifacts from civilizations that lived in and around Tokat since 4000 BC.

Highlights include:

· Hittite tablets from the Maşathöyük excavation

· A Hellenistic sword

· A Roman bronze sculpture group depicting Apollo, Poseidon, Nike, and other deities

These artifacts illustrate Tokat’s role as a crossroads of ancient Anatolian civilizations.

Coin Section

Housed within the archaeology hall, the coin collection is among the most significant in Anatolia for its size and variety. It spans from the earliest electrum coins in history to the Ottoman Empire, including:

· Anatolian Seljuk silver coins

· Ottoman-Venetian gold coins

· Local mintings from different periods

This makes Tokat Museum a key destination for those interested in numismatics.

Ethnography Hall

The western part of the covered bazaar is arranged as the ethnography hall, focusing on Tokat’s cultural traditions:

· Islamic manuscripts, including the oldest known Qur’an from the Anatolian Seljuk period (dated 587 AH / 1191 CE)

· Tokat ceramics, recognized as one of Anatolia’s four major centers of ceramic production (after İznik, Kütahya, and Çanakkale)

· A reenactment of a 600-year-old hand-printed writing workshop

· A reconstructed coppersmith’s workshop, highlighting Tokat’s importance as an Ottoman copper-processing center

These displays preserve and revive the city’s ethnographic identity.

Outdoor Exhibitions

In the front garden, visitors encounter stone artifacts such as:

· Roman sarcophagi, steles, and column capitals

· Seljuk and Ottoman grave headstones and footstones

· Large food storage jars

These open-air displays connect the city’s monumental past with its museum environment.

Cultural Importance

The Tokat Museum combines archaeology, coins, and ethnography in a historic Bedesten building, offering visitors an immersive experience of Tokat’s heritage. From Hittite tablets to Seljuk Qur’ans, from ceramics and copperwork to Roman sarcophagi, it reflects the 4,000-year history of the region.

✨ A visit to the Tokat Museum is a journey through Anatolia’s layered civilizations, where ancient artifacts, traditional crafts, and historic manuscripts come together in one cultural hub.