Guide
Work on a museum in Tokat began in 1926; it opened to the public in 1982, and its displays were rearranged in 2005. It has two parts, archaeological and ethnographic, and holds a large coin collection. Since May 2012 the Arastalı Bedesten has served as the Tokat Museum.
The Arastalı Bedesten stands east of the Takyeciler Mosque on Sulusokak, the well-known street of the town. Evliya Çelebi wrote in his Book of Travels that it was laid out in as good an order as the markets of Aleppo and Bursa. It recalls the bedesten section of the Grand Bazaar in İstanbul: its columns are built up with fine mortar and the workmanship of its vaults is of a high order. An arcade was added along both its eastern and western sides, making an important group of buildings.
The museum had earlier occupied the Gök Medrese, built in 1277 by Pervâne Muineddin, vizier of Kayhusraw III.
Among the displays are examples of Tokat block-printing on cloth, with accounts of the hand-printing technique supported by visual material, and Roman sarcophagi. The famous words attributed to Julius Caesar on his conquest of Zile — veni, vidi, vici — and the battle they refer to are also presented to visitors with information panels.
When to go
The museum is open to visitors from 8.00 to 17.00 every day except Monday.
