Highest museum ticket price at $12.60

Ömer Erbil - ISTANBUL

The most expensive entrance fee to a Turkish museum or archaeological site has been fixed as 72 Turkish Liras ($12.60) after the ticket prices were increased 50 percent on average as of July 15.

Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia Museum and the ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey’s top three most visited and world-renowned cultural places, have the highest entrance fees, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

A single entry ticket price for the Pamukkale thermal therapy center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site standing over the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis in western Anatolia, is 60 liras ($10.50).

Visitor fees for some other top attractions, including the Troy Museum in Çanakkale province, the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul, the ancient cities of Aspendos and Perge in the Mediterranean province of Antalya have increased to 42 liras ($7.30).

But Turkish citizens are eligible to buy a museum card, a yearly visitor pass enabling its holder to visit more than 300 museums and ancient cities for free. A museum card providing access to a museum at most twice a year costs 70 liras ($12.20 for adults and ($5.20) for students.

More than 500,000 Turkish citizens have obtained a museum card so far in 2019.

The price of a Museum Pass Turkey for foreigners, which is valid for fifteen days starting from your first museum and archaeological site entrance, costs 375 liras ($65.60), whereas local pass cards for Istanbul and the Mediterranean and the Aegean regions are being sold for 220 liras ($38.50), and they are valid for five days starting from the first entry.

The Museum Pass Cappadocia, which provides entry to more than 10 museums and archaeological sites in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir for three days, costs 130 liras ($22.70).

All cards provide tourists with a special 10 percent discount on museum store purchases and at cafes in the museums and the archaeological sites.

However, museum and pass cards do not provide access to the Harem Apartment in Topkapı Palace, Aya Irene Monument, Ephesus Terrace House and the Dark Church in Göreme Open Air Museum. Visitors must purchase a separate ticket for these mentioned places. For instance, an extra entry fee of 42 liras ($7.30) is required to visit the Harem Apartment.

Turkish children, citizens over 65 years, veterans, disabled people and their companions, enlisted soldiers, press card holders, employees of diplomatic missions and the Culture and Tourism Ministry can enter the museums and historical sites for free.