Turkey renovates museums

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has an ongoing renovation project to modernize museums throughout the country. By last month, the ministry already renovated and reopened 16 museums, and some have begun to receive visitors.

The museums open to visitors include the Elmalı Museum in Antalya, the Bafra Museum in Samsun, the Zeugma Museum in Gaziantep, the Hittite Archeology Museum in Eskisehir and the Miletus Museum Aydın.

The renovated museums include the Aksaray Museum, the Sanliurfa Museum, the Istanbul Hagia Sophia Museum Sultan Ibrahim Tomb and Sultan Mustafa I Tomb, the Bergama Museum (Small Artifacts Hall), Elazig Museum, the Çorum Boğazköy Museum, the Çorum Alacahöyük Museum, the Manisa Museum (ethnography section), the Adana Museum (Garden and Stone Artifacts Hall), the Yalvaç Museum St. Paul Hall, the Konya Ataturk Museum, the Tokat Latifoglu Museum and a few sections of the Topkapı Palace.

There are currently at least 189 museums, 141 tombs and 131 ruins open to visitors. By the end of this year the ministry plans to open the Bursa Archeology Museum, the Burdur Museum, Erzurum Turkish and Islamic Artifacts Museum, the Tekirdağ Archeology and Ethnography Museum, the Manisa Akhisar Museum, the Topkapı Palace Museum (Karamustafa Pasa Mansion, Revan Mansion, Mecidiye Towers), the Konya Mevlana Museum (Dervish Cells) and the Istanbul Galata Mevlehinanesi Museum