Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, Ankara

Still proudly displaying its 1997 Best European Museum award, Ankara’s superb Museum of Anatolian Civilisations is the perfect introduction to the complex weave of Turkey’s chequered ancient past, housing artefacts cherrypicked from just about every significant archaeological site in Anatolia.

The museum is housed in a beautifully restored 15th-century bedesten (market vault). The 10-domed central marketplace houses reliefs and statuary, while the surrounding hall displays exhibits from the earlier Anatolian civilisations: Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Assyrian, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian and Lydian.The downstairs sections hold classical Greek and Roman artefacts and a display on Ankara’s history. You may be approached by would-be guides outside the museum; if you want to use their services, agree a price in advance and be sure that it’s for your entire group, not per person. You can buy drinks in the museum.