Karaman Museum

Karaman Museum is an archaeological and ethnographic museum in Karaman, a city in south-central Turkey. Established in 1980, it occupies a position to the east of Karaman Castle and houses collections that span from the Epipaleolithic period through the Ottoman era. The museum serves as the principal repository for the region's archaeological heritage, preserving finds that were previously dispersed to other Turkish museums before a permanent local institution was created.

The path to establishing a permanent museum in Karaman was gradual. Archaeological finds from the surrounding area were initially sent to other museums across Turkey. A first museum was founded in 1961 in the rooms of the tourism association, then moved to a central building in 1963, to the Ibrahim Bey soup kitchen in 1966, and to a rented house in 1968. The collection entered its current building in 1971, though the official opening did not occur until 1980. As of 2017, only the upper floor was in active use, with plans for a second exhibition hall, storage, and technical rooms on the lower level.

The museum's holdings are divided between two halls: one for archaeological items and one for ethnographic materials. The archaeological collection covers periods from the Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Ages through the Classical period, Roman Empire, and Byzantine Empire. The ethnographic hall contains objects from the Seljuks, Anatolian Beyliks (principally the Karamanids), and the Ottoman Empire. According to museum administration, the collection comprises 4,231 archaeological objects, 2,095 ethnographic items, and 6,732 coins.

The oldest archaeological pieces come from the prehistoric settlement mound of Canhasan, ten kilometers northeast of Karaman, including pottery, stone axes, obsidian arrowheads, scrapers, and jewelry. Bronze Age materials include ceramic finds from Sısanın Höyük and the western Anatolian Yortan culture, as well as Hittite stamp and cylinder seals. Hellenistic-era finds consist mainly of clay vessels, plates, and lekythoi from Kelenderis. Roman and Byzantine holdings include busts discovered in 2015 at Philadelphia near Ermenek, a sarcophagus, ceramics, glass bottles, and wooden objects. The most celebrated single item is the so-called Manazan Woman, a young woman whose corpse was found in the Manazan caves near Taşkale, east of Karaman. Radiocarbon dating places her to 1000-1200 CE, and her clothing, hair, and parts of her flesh remain remarkably intact due to the clay rocks that covered her body. The coin collection encompasses Greek, Venetian, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Karamanoğulları specimens.

The museum building is located on Turgut Özal Caddesi in the city center, behind the Hatuniye Medresi theological college. It consists of two floors, though as of 2017 only the upper floor was in use. The upper level covers 550 square meters and contains, besides administrative offices, two halls with 32 display cases. The precise coordinates are 37°10′58″N 33°12′41″E.

Karaman Museum is situated in Karaman, Turkey, under the directorship of Abdülbari Yıldız. The museum offers a virtual tour through its official website. Its location east of Karaman Castle and on Turgut Özal Caddesi places it within the central city area, accessible behind the Hatuniye Medresi.