Zeugma Mosaic Museum, in the town of

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, is the biggest

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

museum in the world, containing 1700 m² of mosaics. It opened to the public on 9 September 2011. The museum features of mosaic and replaces the Bardo National Museum in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

as the world’s largest mosaic museum.Dünyanın en büyük mozaik müzesi Gaziantep'te
he world's largest mosaic museum is in Gaziantep 8 September 2011 The museum's

Hellenistic Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

and

Roman mosaics A Roman mosaic is a mosaic made during the Roman period, throughout the Roman Republic and later Empire. Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings, on both floors and walls, though they competed with cheaper frescos for the ...

are focused on Zeugma, which is said to have been founded as Seleucia by

Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...

, founder of the

Seleucid Kingdom The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the M ...

after serving as a hetairoi military officer in the army of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

. The treasures, including the mosaics, remained relatively unknown until 2000 when artifacts appeared in museums and when plans for new dams on the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

meant that much of Zeugma would be flooded. In 2011, many of the mosaics remain covered, and teams of researchers continue to work on the project.

Gallery

File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Mars statue 4076.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

statue File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Achilles mosaic 2098b.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Acrotos mosaic 2484.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Acrotos mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Andromeda mosaic 1870.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Andromeda mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Antiope mosaic 4092.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Antiope mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Daedalus mosaic 1871.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, an ...

mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Dionysos mosaic 8166.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Dionysos and Ariadne mosaic 4112.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Dionysos and

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Dionysos Triumf mosaic 1875.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Dionysos Triumph mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Eros and Psyche mosaic 8258.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...

and

Psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Methiokos mosaic 8142.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Methiokos mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Women mosaic 4061.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Women at breakfast aka Drama Group mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Oceanus and Thetys 1 mosaic 005.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus (; grc-gre, , Ancient Greek pronunciation: , also Ὠγενός , Ὤγενος , or Ὠγήν ) was a Titan son of Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys, and the father of the river gods a ...

and

Thetys Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as ...

1 mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Oceanus and Thetys 2 mosaic 4021.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Oceanus and Thetys 2 mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Water gods mosaic 8199.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Water gods mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Zeus and Europa mosaic 4087.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

and

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

mosaic File:The_Kidnapping_of_Europa_Mosaic.jpg, Kidnapping of Europa File:Gaziantep 092007 0323.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Unidentified mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum December 2011 1876.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Unidentified mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum December 2011 1950b.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Unidentified mosaic File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum December 2011 1977.jpg, Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Unidentified mosaic

References

External links

Over 500 pictures of the mosaics in organized galleries
{{authority control Archaeological museums in Turkey Art museums and galleries in Turkey Museums in Gaziantep Museums established in 2011 Mosaics in Turkey Visitor attractions in Gaziantep