Following the strong interest shown by visitors last year, the night museum program will begin on June 1 this year, welcoming guests during late evening hours at numerous museums across Türkiye.
The most popular site for night visits is the UNESCO World Heritage-listed ancient city of Ephesus, which will remain open until 11 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays this year as well.
Ephesus was not only a commercial and political center in antiquity but also attracts history enthusiasts due to the ruins of the Temple of Artemis – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and based on the ancient Anatolian mother goddess Kybele tradition.
Among the most visited sites in southeastern Anatolia, the Nemrut Mountain Archaeological Site in Adıyaman will be illuminated at night and open for visitors between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m.
The monumental statues on the slopes of Nemrut Mountain, located at an altitude of 2,150 meters in the Kahta district of Adıyaman, represent the grandeur of the Hellenistic period.
Historical records show these statues reflect King Antiochus I’s mixed heritage, with his mother being Greek and father Persian, symbolizing a bridge between East and West civilizations.
Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, these well-preserved 8-10 meter limestone statues were commissioned by King Antiochus I of Commagene to honor gods and ancestors. Nemrut is among the most visited archaeological sites in southeastern Anatolia.
Aspendos, Patara, Side open until 10 p.m.
Alsancak Tekel Factory, a roughly 140-year-old industrial heritage site, was transformed into the Müze İzmir Culture and Art Factory in 2023 after a project led by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, opening its doors to history enthusiasts.
Within the night museum program, the site will be accessible until 9 p.m.
Several museums and archaeological sites in Antalya, a tourism hot spot, will also benefit from night museum hours and attract more visitors. Antalya Museum, Alanya Museum and Necropolis Museum, along with the Aspendos, Patara and Side archaeological sites, will remain open until 10 p.m.
Didim’s Apollo Temple will be open until 9 p.m., the Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum until 10 p.m. and Denizli’s Hierapolis archaeological site until 11 p.m.
Among the first museums established in the Republican era, the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, opened in Ankara under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s directive to establish a Hittite museum, will also participate in the night museum program.
Displaying Anatolia’s rich history spanning the Hittites, Urartians, Sumerians and Phrygians, the museum will welcome visitors until 9 p.m.
Similarly, the Ankara Ethnography Museum, Atatürk’s first rest house, will also be open until 9 p.m.
Galata Tower open until 11 p.m.
Several museums in Istanbul will take advantage of night museum hours as well. Istanbul Archaeology Museums (except indoor areas), the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum, and the Istanbul Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum will be accessible until 10 p.m.
One of Türkiye’s most visited historical landmarks, Galata Tower, will remain open until 11 p.m.
Nevşehir’s natural wonders, which attract visitors year-round, will also benefit from night museum hours. The Zelve-Paşa Bağlar archaeological site and the underground cities of Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı and Özkonak will be open until 9 p.m.
The Samsun Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, housing artifacts from the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, Hittite, Hellenistic and Roman periods, and relocated last year to a new building, will also be open until 10 p.m.
The Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum, which contains late antique churches and early Syriac and Christian iconography, will keep its doors open until 9 p.m.
In addition to the mosaics from the ancient city of Zeugma, covering a total area of 2,500 square meters and representing the pinnacle of artistic achievement, visitors can see Roman period statues, columns and fountains.
The Şanlıurfa Museum, Türkiye’s largest enclosed museum with one of the longest exhibition routes in the world at 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles), will also be accessible until 9 p.m.
Exhibiting approximately 10,000 artifacts, it ranks among Türkiye’s and the world’s most significant museums in terms of immersive displays.
The Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum in Şanlıurfa, with a 6,000 square meter area and 82-meter diameter roof, the largest column-free structure in Türkiye, will also be open until 9 p.m.
Erzurum Museum will join the night museum program, staying open until 9 p.m.