Sarcophagus

These exquisite horse heads are from the Royal Necropolis of Sidon archaeological site (in

present-day Lebanon) and are on the marble tomb known as the Lycian Sarcophagus. It

dates from the 5th century BC and can be seen in the Istanbul Museum of Antiquities. Like

a lot of Istanbul on my last visit, half the Museum was closed for restoration. The Hagia

Sophia, the largest building in Turkey, built in the 6th century AD as a Christian (Greek

Orthodox) Cathedral, becoming an Ottoman mosque in the 15th century (and a museum

since 1930) - was undergoing restoration too, with most of the interior covered in

scaffolding. They didn't reduce the entrace fee, though. The Naval Museum was closed

completely, we discovered when we got there. It didn't really matter, since Istanbul has

enough treasures for a lifetime as it is, but a bit galling when we only had three days before

moving on. These beautiful prancing horse-heads reminded me of the bronze horses of St

Mark's Basilica in Venice, which I've never been able to photograph.

These exquisite horse heads are from the Royal Necropolis of Sidon archaeological site (in

present-day Lebanon) and are on the marble tomb known as the Lycian Sarcophagus. It dates

from the 5th century BC and can be seen in the Istanbul Museum of Antiquities. Like a lot of

Istanbul on my last visit, half the Museum was closed for restoration. The Hagia Sophia, the

largest building in Turkey, built in the 6th century AD as a Christian (Greek Orthodox) Cathedral,

becoming an Ottoman mosque in the 15th century (and a museum since 1930) - was

undergoing restoration too, with most of the interior covered in scaffolding. They didn't reduce

the entrace fee, though. The Naval Museum was closed completely, we discovered when we

got there. It didn't really matter, since Istanbul has enough treasures for a lifetime as it is, but a

bit galling when we only had three days before moving on. These beautiful prancing

horse-heads reminded me of the bronze horses of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, which I've never

been able to photograph.

Sarcophagus sculpture