Visitor influx to Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum in the first 7 months of the year

The Zeugma Mosaic Museum, one of the largest mosaic museums in the world, hosted 242,000 visitors in the first 7 months of the year.

The museum was closed for 74 days last year due to the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, for the safety of visitors and museum staff, but since its reopening, it has been flooded with visitors.

Located in Gaziantep on the historic Silk Road and covering an area of 30,000 square meters, the Zeugma Mosaic Museum exhibits hundreds of artifacts, including the “Gypsy Girl” mosaic, the “Mars statue,” fountains, baths from the Roman period, and mosaics found in villas along the Euphrates River.

The museum, which has the “Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Award,” also displays 12 pieces of the “Gypsy Girl” mosaic that were brought to Turkey from the USA in 2018, and aims to break visitor records in 2024.

The Zeugma Mosaic Museum, which is one of the most visited places by local and foreign tourists in the region, welcomes visitors throughout the year.

In addition to the mosaics that cover an area of 2,500 square meters extracted from the ancient city of Zeugma, sculptures, columns, and fountains from the Roman period also attract attention. The “Gypsy Girl” mosaic, which is one of the museum’s most important pieces and a symbol of the city, is among the most visited artifacts. With 242,000 visitors in the first 7 months of 2024, the Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum is expected to set a visitor record this year. Gaziantep Museum Director Özgür Çomak stated that they have experienced a busy period since January 2024 and noted that the museum has attracted more interest this year. Çomak reported that 27,000 people visited the Zeugma Mosaic Museum until the date of the earthquakes that occurred in Kahramanmaraş last year, expressing that tourism has revived nationwide and in the region this year.

Çomak stated that they aim to break the 440,000 visitor record from 2022 in 2024 and expect at least 500,000 visitors.

Çomak mentioned that the visitor count has increased threefold compared to previous years until the earthquake date, saying, “Since its opening, the Gaziantep Mosaic Museum has received intense interest and is one of the most important museums in our country and region. In 2023, we experienced the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, which was truly a very sad period. Before the February 6 earthquakes in 2023, we had entered the season very quickly. We exceeded the visitor count of 11,000 we had in January 2022 by more than double in January 2023. After the earthquake, our museum was closed for 74 days for the safety of visitors and staff. We officially opened one day before the Ramadan holiday in 2023 and completed that season this way.”

“We want to break the 440,000 visitor record from 2022”

Çomak indicated that they have entered 2024 very quickly, stating, “During the last Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, we broke the daily visitor record since the establishment of the Zeugma Mosaic Museum. We saw a figure of 6,220 in one day. We hosted 38,000 visitors due to the holiday. This shows us that the tourism season in this region will go very well in 2024. Our goal is to exceed the 440,000 figure from 2022, hopefully.”

“Our museum is the first place visited by tourists coming to Gaziantep”

Çomak expressed that the Gaziantep Mosaic Museum is a living museum, saying, “The Gaziantep Mosaic Museum is one of the most important museums in the region and our province. Our museum is the first place visited by tourists coming to Gaziantep. In 2024, there is another important event like the Turkey Culture Road Festival. This festival, organized by our ministry in various provinces, started in Adana and is currently ongoing in Şanlıurfa, will take place in Gaziantep between September 14-22, along with a gastronomy festival. Hopefully, we expect intense interest from neighboring provinces and our country during that period.”