Turkish museums offering free admission, extended hours for European Night of Museums

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) – Museums across Türkiye are gearing up for a special celebration as part of the annual European Night of Museums, offering visitors free entry as well as extended hours well into the evening.

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry announced that 43 museums throughout the country will be free of charge and remain open until 11 p.m. on Thursday, allowing art enthusiasts and history buffs to experience the country’s cultural treasures in a unique and enchanting setting.

The European Night of Museums, or the Long Night of Museums, is a cultural event across Europe in which museums and cultural institutions stay open late.

Among the museums in Türkiye’s top metropolis which will be free of charge and open until late are the Istanbul Archaeology Museums as well as the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. In the Turkish capital, the Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, and in the Aegean province of Izmir, the Ephesus Archaeological Museum as well as in the Mediterranean province of Antalya’s Andriake Archaeological Site will be also open for night owl visitors until late.

May 18 is also marked as Museum Day across the world, and this year’s theme for the occasion is “Museums, Sustainability and Well-being,” according to the Paris-based International Council of Museums, an international organization of museums and museum professionals.

“Museums are key contributors to the well-being and to the sustainable development of our communities,” said the institution on its website.

- Pera and Eskisehir

In Türkiye, May 18-24 is celebrated as Museum Week.

The Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM) in the central province of Eskisehir said that it is holding a series of online seminars on museums on May 20-21 to mark Museum Week. In the panels, experts will discuss issues related to museology and museums, the museum said in a statement.

Istanbul’s Pera Museum is organizing a series of events for Museum Week including film screenings and workshops for children.

The museum will be free of charge all day on May 18 but will close at 7 p.m., its usual time.

In one such event, said the museum, “Cinematographic Pleasures: Highlights of Eye Filmmuseum invites the audience on a journey that sheds light on the 128-year history of cinema.” The program is organized in partnership with the Dutch Eye Filmmuseum, one of the foremost film museums in Europe, and curated by Elif Rongen-Kaynakci.

A workshop titled Museum of Dreams invites children “to get to know Pera Museum and the interesting works in its collections,” it said. “Participants create original designs by using various paints and decoration materials, templates with drawings of the front facade of the Pera Museum, and printouts of the works they will encounter in the exhibitions.”

For the special week, Pera Museum is also organizing a free exhibition tour for a limited number of participants with curators Serdar Darendeliler and Refik Akyuz for the photo exhibit Istanbuls Today.