One of the largest mosaic museums in the world, this purpose-built space showcases the astonishing floor mosaics rescued from Zeugma, a wealthy Greco-Roman city on the Euphrates whose riverside villas were partly drowned by the Birecik Dam reservoir around 2000. Rushed salvage excavations recovered acres of intricate figurative mosaics depicting gods, myths, rivers, and banquets, now displayed in context with reconstructed villa layouts. The undisputed star is the Gypsy Girl (Çingene Kızı), a fragment of a woman's face whose enigmatic, follow-you-around gaze has become the symbol of the whole collection and of Gaziantep itself. Beyond her you will find vivid scenes of Dionysus, Poseidon, and Achilles, delicate wall frescoes, and a rare bronze statue of Mars. Generous labeling explains both the mythology and the dramatic race to lift the art clear of the rising waters. It is a genuinely world-class museum that alone justifies a trip to the city.
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