Most visited venue in 2012: Yerebatan

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

The Yerebatan Cistern was the most visited museum last year in Turkey, according to data provided by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. AA photo

The private museums in Turkey were visited by 6,847,735 people last year. The most visited museum was Yerebatan Cistern and the Union of Turkish Bars Museum received the least number of people with 142 visitors.

According to information provided by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the number of museum visitors is increasing in parallel with the number of museums that are being opened by public institutions, private institutions or foundations in Turkey.

Among 173 private museums in the country, 42 are in Istanbul, 34 are in Ankara and 11 are in İzmir. There are also seven museums in Bursa, six in Kütahya, Aydın and Gaziantep and five in Eskişehir, while Hakkari, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Karabük, Mardin, Sakarya, Tokat, Trabzon and Zonguldak are each home to one private museum. Another 42 cities do not have private museums.

Last year the most visited private museum was the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Yerebatan Cistern with 1,833,461 visitors. It was followed by the Istanbul Modern Museum with 665,776 visitors, Istanbul’s Miniatürk with 530,305 visitors, Malatya Somuncu Baba Darende Tanıtım Merkezi Museum with 485,000 visitors and Istanbul’s Sakıp Sabancı Museum with 253,469 visitors. The Union of Turkish Bars Museum, which opened last year in Ankara, received the least number of visitors with 142 people only. This museum was followed by Gazi Ü. Mesleki Eğitim Fakültesi Prof. Ülker Muncuk Museum with 250 visitors, Muğla Apiculture Museum with 300 visitors, Anatolian Architecture and Furniture Culture Heritage Museum with 300 visitors and the TRT History of Publication Museum with 400 visitors.