Number of private museums increases

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

The Museum of Innocence, eponymously named for Turkish Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk’s recent book. Hürriyet photo

The number of private museums in Turkey has risen from 151 museums in 36 provinces two years ago to 175 private museums in the first four months of 2013.

Istanbul ranks at the top of the list. While in 2009 there had been 40 private museums in the city, in April 2013 this figure rose to 41. In Ankara this figure had been 31 and grew to 34. In İzmir there had been eight and are now 11 private museums. Çanakkale and Bursa follow İzmir with seven private museums, and Gaziantep and Aydın with six private museums. In Eskişehir, on the other hand, there are five museums.

Private museums have to fulfill certain requirements. The establishment of private museums is audited by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, and if the necessary conditions are met the ministry grants private museum status.

A total of 97 museums were restored and 38 new museums were opened in Turkey between 2003 and 2013, according to a written statement issued by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The ministry announced that restoration work was still underway at a total of 188 museums, 130 ancient sites and 172 private museums.

In the last three years, 4,138 artworks were obtained by Turkish museums from abroad through purchase, donation, grant and excavations, according to the statement.

In addition, 10 restoration and conservation regional laboratories were founded for nearly 3,200 artworks held in museums, the statement said.