Pergamon Museum

I love museums, and the Smithsonian Museums are a major attraction for me in Washington DC (I think I have been to every one of them around Washington DC). The British museum has a huge collection of all the stuff they stole (sorry acquired through gifts) from their colonies, the Cairo Museum has the Tutenkamen, my personal favourite has been the Smithsonian Air and Space Museums (there are two of them) in Washington DC simply because of its massive collection: the Spirit of St Loius, the Lunar Lander back up, moon rocks, a Concorde, a space shuttle and a Black Bird. So given all that, to say that I think that the Pergamon is the most impressive museum I have ever been to, makes it quite special.

The Pergamon museum's collection is largely composed of art from the ancient world: Roman, Greek, Byzantine, Assyrian and Sumerian empires as well as a large collection of Islamic art. In terms of actual items on display, it is probably a lot smaller than other similar collections; but what is impressive is not only the quality but the scale.

To start off, take the Great Altar of Pergamon, after which the museum takes its name. I think pictures say a thousand words ... so I will leave it at that :P












I love the detail in the work. The is is a close up of the hand of Zeus. Part of the arm is missing, but his Torso is still largely intact. The hole allowed him to actually hold something that was meant to resemble a lightning strike he was about to do on some giant he was fighting.



The collection of other art works from the Greek and Roman empires include a recreation of a Greek temple (of Athena IIRC) where the level of detail in ancient buildings is truly astounding. The statues and artifacts are largely very well preserved, which is in itself quite impressive.




This is part of the top of the pillars of these temples. The lion's mouth acts like a gutter taking away rain water from the roof.







One of the other big attractions, Market Gate of Miletus, is under restoration. It is mentioned in the audio guide (every one gets an audio guide ... much easier than writing the descriptions in multiple languages), that this is one of the largest and heaviest archaeological installations in any museum.



But walk through the Ishtar Gate and then there is start of the Babylonian and Assyrian section. This gate and the recreation of Procession Street of Babylon (with only the width of the street being the only change from the original) is more colourful but less dramatic that the Altar of Pergamon. Built by Nebuchardrezzar II, it was apparently once considered part of the Seven Wonders of the World before being replaced by the Lighthouse of Alexandria.







The actual collection of works from the Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian empires is a lot smaller than the British Museum I think, but it certainly wins on the impressive scale.





The Islamic Art collection is lot more than a collection of carpets, and again, there is a a grand scale about it. Huge prayer murals, intricate wood carvings, and yes, well, carpets.







There is also a partial restoration of the Mshattas Palace, a now deserted palace from the Jordanian desert. The real origins of the palace are unknown, so it is rather mysterious. Oh yeah, this is on the second floor!