Museum · Haleplibahçe, Eyyübiye, Şanlıurfa

Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum

Name: Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum
Address: Haleplibahçe, Şanlıurfa, Turkey

Haleplibahçe Mozaik Müzesi · Şanlıurfa Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum

The Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum in Şanlıurfa is a Ministry of Culture and Tourism museum built over the place where Roman-era villa mosaics were found, so that they are shown where they were laid. It is best known for the Villa of the Amazons, the Achilles panel and the Ktisis mosaic.

A detail of the Roman-era floor mosaic depicting scenes from the life of Achilles, in situ at the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum, Şanlıurfa. — Detail of the Achilles mosaic, Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum. · Photo: Dosseman / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Where it is

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37.1510, 38.7829

Why go

The Ministry says the mosaics were found in 2005 during infrastructure works in the Haleplibahçe area and excavated in 2007-2009. It dates them to the 5th-6th centuries AD and says they show Greek mythology and the Greek alphabet. It calls the building the largest column-free structure in Turkey, with an area of 6,000 m² and a diameter of 82 m. The museum's page describes the Villa of the Amazons, named for the Amazon figures in its 'Hunting Amazons' mosaic; the Ktisis mosaic, a bust of the villa's founding and protecting goddess holding a Roman foot measure; and the Achilles panel, which shows scenes from Achilles' life from infancy to his departure for Troy. Mosaics from elsewhere in Şanlıurfa province are shown too. The Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum is a separate building in the same garden, so the two are usually visited together.

Getting there

The museum is on Haleplibahçe 2372 Sokak in Eyyübiye, in the same park as the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum, about 320 m from it by the two Ministry map points. The Ministry publishes no entrance position, ticket-office position or parking information, and no route from the city centre.

Best time to visit

The Ministry names no best season. The mosaics are shown inside a single roofed building, but whether it is air-conditioned is not published. For context, the Turkish State Meteorological Service's Şanlıurfa statistics (1929-2025) give average July and August highs of 38.8°C and 38.4°C and a record of 46.8°C, with 10 to 12 rainy days a month from December to February.

Through the year

Hours: one Ministry listing shows a single all-year schedule and another shows shorter winter hours from 1 October, so confirm before you go. A night session (19:00 to 21:00) was listed on 22 September 2026; the Ministry does not say whether it runs all year. No seasonal closure is published, and no annual event tied to the museum was found.

Safety

No operator safety advice is published for the museum. If you walk between the museums in summer, the UK Foreign Office advises that extreme temperatures can affect many areas of Turkey over the summer months.

Accessibility

The Ministry does not publish a step-free route, a stroller policy or an accessibility statement for the museum. The Turkish Museums listing shows lift and accessibility badges, but that is a directory listing, not a description of the route through the building. Ask on 0414 313 15 88 before you go if you need a step-free route.

Visiting

Type: Museum
Where: Haleplibahçe, Eyyübiye, Şanlıurfa
Opening: On 22 September 2026 the Ministry's museum portal (muze.gov.tr) listed the museum as open to visits, every day, 08:30 to 18:45, with the ticket office closing at 18:45, and a separate night session from 19:00 to 21:00 every day, with the ticket office closing at 20:30; MüzeKart holders need a separate night ticket. The Turkish Museums listing shows different hours: 08:00 to 19:00 in summer (1 April to 1 October) and 08:30 to 17:30 in winter (1 October to 1 April). The two disagree, so check your date; if the winter timetable applies it starts on 1 October.
Cost: Admission is ticketed through the Ministry's e-ticket system, and Turkish MüzeKart is valid. The Turkish Museums listing read on 22 September 2026 showed free entry for foreign-national children younger than 8 and for Turkish citizens under 18. Prices change; check the Ministry's ticket page for current fares.
Best for: Visitors who like mosaics and mythology, and anyone pairing it with the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum next door; the Ministry offers an audio-guidance service.
Not ideal for: Visitors who need a confirmed step-free or stroller route, which the operator has not published.

Details last verified 2026-09-22. Conditions change — check locally before setting out.

Base yourself nearby

City

Şanlıurfa

Şanlıurfa, also called Urfa, is the base for Göbekli Tepe, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic hilltop site on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and for the Ministry's Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum and Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum. Its old core also holds Balıklıgöl, a pilgrimage site tied to the Prophet Abraham. Several heritage units around it are closed or under restoration, and they need checking one by one.

Near Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum

Related guides

Göbekli Tepe, the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum and the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum: three different places, one trip
Göbekli Tepe is a UNESCO World Heritage excavation site outside Şanlıurfa, not a museum. The Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum and the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum are two separate buildings in the city, with two unrelated collections — Neolithic Göbekli Tepe finds in one, in-situ Roman-era mosaics in the other. This guide keeps the three apart and sets out what UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Turkey's meteorological service publish about visiting each.