Sunday

The first of two posts for today.

Being a visitor in a European city on a Sunday always needs careful planning. Unlike in some parts of the world, Sunday is a quiet day; one for home and family and many places are closed including most shops. Bearing this in mind, we’d saved our must do museum for today, because whilst we were in Greece and Turkey, every time the word Pergamon was uttered, we looked at one another and nodded. How fortunate we were to have a visit on the horizon!

This Sunday was dreary weather, overcast and with a little rain in the air. We’d taken the S Bahn to Museums Inseln and walked along the opposite side of the river to the cathedral. Now, can we remember which of these grand museums is the Pergamon?

Well, we didn’t remember this striking addition from our last visit! I’ve been here several times previously, my first visit leaving such a deep and lasting memory that I couldn’t wait to visit with my hero. Sometimes we’ve been disappointed because renovations have closed large sections of the museum for lengthy periods, but today, as far as we knew, all was open and available for viewing!

And the minute we stepped into the gallery, we found ourselves drawn to these magnificent Assyrian sculpted panels. But fabulous as they are, we had our minds on greater things.

For just around the corner is the Processional Way which leads to the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. Reconstructed here in the museum, the orignal would have been three times wider and three times longer. It’s the highlight of a visit here and it’s impossible not to be captivated by those lions…perfectly in proportion and with very lion-like features.

In the centre was a small display explaining the reconstruction. The original tiles had been brought to the museum as shown.

I loved the handwritten label on the crate!

Can you imagine the jigsaw puzzle that awaited construction? But how exciting to be part of the process!

The Processional Way leads to the star attraction, the Ishtar Gate. I took better photographs on a previous visit I think, but really, no photo can do it justice. The colour, the relief textures and sheer size of this fabulous gateway just have to be seen for real!

I don’t recall taking particular note of this panel previously though. It’s an inscription from Nebuchadnezzar explaining the purpose and thinking behind the construction of the gate, providing wonderful details for historians and a great inspiration for carpet makers and quilters!

For me, it’s the animals and the daisies that stand out - so beautifully shaped and perfectly positioned.

Beyond here was another treasure though. When we stood in the theatre in Miletus just a couple of weeks ago, I’m not sure we could imagine the market gate quite like this. Archaeologists have discovered that one arch leads to a barbers, the other to a money lender - details which I find fascinating. Standing here I can remember Ahmet explaining that the market gate looked rather like the library at Ephesus….and now I can see exactly what he meant.

The beautiful mosaic floor on show nearby was also from Miletus. Such detail in those tiny pieces, put together with great artistry.

Once at this spot, we’d seen most of the ground floor - time to go upstairs and see the Asian and Islamic galleries.

I know very little about Islamic art but found this prayer niche fascinating for the wealth of ceramic skills that went into the making of it. Not a square inch was devoid of detailed pattern and the relief textures and lustre glazing must have made this mihrab a real eye catcher. I understand that it’s made of 79 separate tiles, each one fitting perfectly with its neighbours. Wow.

As we’re walking between galleries however, an open window above one on the ground floor draws our attention!

There are fine collections of carpets here, rooms filled with colour and texture and I feel that I should learn more about them. Instead, I find my attention caught by the way the punched paper patterns hanging from the ceiling throw a shadow onto the wall…

Let’s go back downstairs and make sure we didn’t miss anything.

We spend a little more time wandering through the side rooms adjacent to the Processional Way, admiring the pair of Assyrian creatures who stood guard. It was now well past lunchtime, we’d seen a cafe by the entrance hall and there was another part of the museum we didn’t want to miss.

I’ll share the details of that in my next post!