The Hunting Amazons
The only known mosaic to gather four named Amazon queens in a single hunt, still lying where it was laid.
Cobija — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0
In 2006 the Şanlıurfa municipality was digging to extend a park near the fish lake when the floor of a late-Roman villa surfaced, and on it four Amazon queens were riding down lions and leopards, each with her name lettered above her head: Melanippe and Penthesilea on horseback, Hippolyte and Thermodosa on foot. No other mosaic anywhere is known to put four named Amazon queens in one scene, so instead of prising the floor up and boxing it, the city built a dome over it. The dome is half the spectacle: a circular hall about 82 m across with not a single column, under which the mosaics stay exactly where they were laid, and you walk on raised walkways over the villa's room plan as it was drawn fifteen centuries ago. Beside the Amazons is the Life of Achilles, his whole biography from the nursery to his departure for Troy on one panel, then Ktisis, the goddess of the villa's founding, in a jewelled crown holding the Roman foot-rule the builders worked to, and a rare panel of a black groom leading a zebra. In its own room sits the Orpheus mosaic, dated by its inscription to AD 194, smuggled out of Urfa in 1980 and handed back by the Dallas Museum of Art in 2012 once its origin was proven. An hour covers it comfortably, and it is an easy visit for families: level floors with almost no steps, pushchairs roll through without fuss, and there is an audio guide. When Urfa passes 40 °C in July and August the air-conditioned hall is a sensible pause between Balıklıgöl and the castle; the museum stands only 300 m north of the lake, and across the street the Kızılkoyun rock tombs can be seen from the pavement for nothing. Entry is 10 euros for foreigners and the museum opens every day. The archaeology museum next door, home of the famous Urfa Man statue and the Göbekli Tepe gallery, is normally covered by the same ticket, so check at the desk before paying twice; Museum Pass Türkiye holders walk into both regardless. The honest verdict: if ancient art leaves you cold, the archaeology museum alone will do; if it does not, this is the most beautiful room in the whole city.
The only known mosaic to gather four named Amazon queens in a single hunt, still lying where it was laid.
A panel of AD 194 smuggled out in 1980 and returned by the Dallas Museum of Art, back in its home town.
A circular hall about 82 m across where you walk on raised paths above the rooms of the Roman villa.
Haleplibahçe Mah., 2372. Sk., Eyyübiye
Kızılkoyun NecropolisUntil 2011 these tombs were bedrooms and storerooms. Squatter housing crept up t1 minute walk4.8
Şanlıurfa Archaeology MuseumThe oldest naturalistic life-size human statue anyone has ever found stands here4 minutes walk4.7
Balıklıgöl (Pool of Abraham)Nobody fishes here. Thousands of dark carp crowd a rectangular pool about 150 me5 minutes walk4.8The archaeology museum if you came to Urfa for Göbekli Tepe and the Urfa Man; the mosaic museum if you want an hour of sheer visual beauty. One ticket normally covers both, so confirm at the desk, in which case you need not choose at all.
Yes, and it is one of the easiest Urfa museums with them: level floors, pushchair-friendly, air-conditioned in the heat, and hunting scenes with lions and a zebra that hold small attention spans. An hour is enough before they tire.