The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ulus is the finest archaeological museum in Turkey and one of the best in the world for pre-classical history. It presents the story of human settlement in Anatolia in chronological order, from the Palaeolithic through the Hellenistic period, with particular strengths in the Neolithic (including material from Çatalhöyük, the 9,000-year-old settlement in central Anatolia) and the Hittite Empire. The Hittite collection is unrivalled anywhere.
The Hittite objects — bronze figurines, relief sculptures, cuneiform tablets, and ceremonial objects from the 2nd millennium BCE — fill the main hall of the bedesten. The Phrygian and Urartian collections that follow are also excellent. Plan to spend at least two to three hours. The building itself, a beautifully restored 15th-century Ottoman covered market, adds an extra dimension to the visit.