‘Alcatraz of Anatolia’ hosts 300,000 visitors

SİNOP

Sinop Prison and Museum, which was used as a prison in the northern province of Sinop between 1887 and 1999 and was turned into a museum in 2000, hosted 300,000 visitors last year.

The historical structure, built on a field of 13,000 square meters and dubbed the “Alcatraz of Anatolia” during the time it was used as a prison, is among the important destinations in Turkey for “dark tourism,” tourism involving travel to places historically associated with death and tragedy.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Hikmet Tosun, the provincial director of culture and tourism, said the number of visitors to Sinop Prison and Museum has been increasing for the last few years.

Last year, 300,000 people visited the museum, Tosun said, adding that they expect this number to surpass 400,000 this season.

The museum is among the most important tourism destinations in the region, Tosun said.

“The number of visitors to our museum continues to increase every year. Most of the visitors to the city do not leave the city without seeing this place. The number of visitors last year is a good figure. I hope that, with the implementation of the planned projects, we will have a museum hosting 800,000 visitors.”