02.06.2026 11:00
During the Eid al-Adha holiday, museums and archaeological sites affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism hosted 1,514,211 visitors. The most popular cultural destinations included Ephesus, Hierapolis, Göbeklitepe, Zelve-Paşabağlar, and the Zeugma Mosaic Museum.
During the Eid al-Adha holiday, museums and archaeological sites affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism hosted 1,514,211 visitors, while Ephesus, Hierapolis, Göbeklitepe, Zelve-Paşabağlar, and the Zeugma Mosaic Museum were among the most preferred cultural destinations. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that Turkey's cultural routes were filled with visitors during the holiday, saying, "Throughout the holiday, we hosted a total of 1,514,211 visitors at our museums and archaeological sites."
INTEREST IN CULTURAL HERITAGE REACHED REMARKABLE LEVELS
Interest in Turkey's cultural heritage reached remarkable levels during the Eid al-Adha holiday. While museums and archaeological sites affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism hosted 1,514,211 visitors, Ephesus, Hierapolis, Göbeklitepe, Zelve-Paşabağlar, and the Zeugma Mosaic Museum were among the most preferred cultural destinations. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy shared data on the visitor activity at museums and archaeological sites during the holiday on his social media account.
MINISTER ERSOY ANNOUNCED THE FIGURES
"Restoration works we have implemented at our museums and archaeological sites, visitor-oriented practices, and our new museology approach are increasing interest in our cultural routes every day. We experienced one of the most concrete reflections of this interest during the Eid al-Adha holiday. Cultural routes across Turkey were filled with our visitors. Throughout the holiday, we hosted a total of 1,514,211 visitors at our museums and archaeological sites. The most visited cultural destinations during the holiday were: Ephesus Archaeological Site - 119,143 visitors, Hierapolis (Pamukkale) Archaeological Site - 113,034 visitors, Göbeklitepe Archaeological Site - 65,446 visitors, Zelve-Paşabağlar Archaeological Site - 55,492 visitors, Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum - 48,843 visitors. I thank all our visitors for their intense interest in our cultural heritage."
MOST VISITED CULTURAL DESTINATIONS REVEALED
The cultural destination that hosted the most visitors during the holiday was the Ephesus Archaeological Site with 119,143 visitors. Ephesus was followed by Denizli Hierapolis (Pamukkale) with 113,034 visitors and Şanlıurfa Göbeklitepe Archaeological Site with 65,446 visitors.
After Göbeklitepe, Nevşehir Zelve-Paşabağlar Archaeological Site ranked high on the list, hosting 55,492 visitors, and the Zeugma Mosaic Museum hosted 48,843 visitors.
Göreme Archaeological Site stood out next on the list with 48,291 visitors, while Trabzon Sümela Monastery was visited by 37,562, Antalya Phaselis Archaeological Site by 33,919, Galata Tower by 29,587, and Nevşehir Derinkuyu Underground City by 27,626 visitors.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VISITORS EACH DAY OF THE HOLIDAY
Throughout the Eid al-Adha holiday, visitor density at museums and archaeological sites remained high on each day of the holiday.
While 163,815 visitors were hosted on the eve of the holiday, this number was recorded as 150,086 on the first day of the holiday. On the second day of the holiday, 208,907 visitors; on the third day, 252,127; and on the fourth day, 219,017 visitors visited museums and archaeological sites. On the Sunday following the holiday, 118,310 visitors chose cultural routes.