Museum of the Anatolian Civilizations is located in the old part of Ankara. It occupies two renovated Ottoman Buildings; Grand Vizier Mahmut Pasha Bedesten and Kurşunlu Han.
The buildings were abandoned after a fire in 1881. Ataturk suggested that these buildings should be arranged as a museum. Restoration work began in 1938. The first part of the museum was opened in 1943. Museum of the Anatolian Civilizations won the European Museum of the Year Award in 1997.
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is among the leading museums of the world in terms of its unique collection of archeological findings. The archeology of Anatolia from the Paleolithic age to present is displayed by periods in chronological order.