The Troy Museum, showcasing artifacts from the 5,600-year-old archaeological site of Troy in Çanakkale, Türkiye, and the archaeological site itself, where the famous Trojan War took place, has attracted a total of 400,000 visitors in just eight months. The number of visitors is expected to reach 500,000 in the coming months.
The Troy Museum, which sheds light on 5,600 years of history, was built at the entrance of the Troy Archaeological Site in Çanakkale, with a budget of approximately TL 70 million ($2.06 million). Spanning a covered area of 12,750 square meters (137,537 square feet), the museum was inaugurated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 18, 2019. Immediately after opening, the Troy Museum gained worldwide attention with its architecture and its collection of 2,000 artifacts. Located at the entrance of the Troy site, which has been excavated for over 160 years within the boundaries of the village of Tevfikiye, the museum received several prestigious awards: the European Museum of the Year Special Commendation Award in 2020, the European Museum Academy Special Award in 2020 and 2021, the "Most Successful Museum of the Year" at the Attraction Star Awards in 2020 and the "Traveller Choice" awards from Tripadvisor.com for two consecutive years.
The Troy archaeological site, located within the village of Tevfikiye, is where the Trojan War took place and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998. The site, which has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times due to wars, fires and earthquakes, continues to draw thousands of local and international tourists each year. Visitors to the site also have the opportunity to see nearly 2,000 artifacts displayed in the Troy Museum, which opened in 2019. Excavations at the Troy Archaeological Site are ongoing throughout the year. Over the past eight months, both the Troy Museum and the archaeological site attracted a combined total of 400,000 visitors. The number of visitors is expected to reach 500,000 in the upcoming months.
Troy Museum director Rıdvan Gölcük highlighted that they have reached a record number of visitors so far. "Our museum became popular right after it opened. It was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 places to visit in the world in 2019 and was chosen as the most successful museum in Türkiye in 2020. That same year, it won the European Museum of the Year award and the European Museum Academy awards for 2020-21, which rapidly increased its popularity. The reason for the museum's rapid rise in popularity is due, in part, to the nine exhibitions we held just until August 2024. The museum is bustling with activity, and it has been featured hundreds of times in national and international media. It has been the subject of many documentaries. With its social media presence, public statements and magazine releases, we are trying to build a solid corporate image and brand. We can even say that in a very short time, the Troy Museum has become one of Türkiye's top museum brands, successfully representing the 'Made in Troy' label," he said.
Commenting on the number of visitors to the museum, Gölcük stated: "Shortly after the Troy Museum opened, we faced the pandemic. This was an unfortunate situation for us, and last year's earthquake also affected the number of visitors. If we look at the first two quarters of 2024, we saw a 68% increase in January, February and March compared to the first three months of 2023, which is a very encouraging figure. In the second quarter, April, May and June, we continued with a 28% increase. So, overall, we are 38% ahead in the first six months compared to 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The year 2024 is continuing to break records for us. By August, the Troy archaeological site and the Troy Museum together have attracted nearly 400,000 visitors. Very soon, the combined total will reach 500,000. By the end of the year, we will break the total visitor record. Last year, we had around 60,000 visitors in just the first six months, but now we have surpassed 100,000 in the same period. Therefore, the museum reached a total of around 160,000 visitors last year. I believe we will surpass this in September, and we will continue to break records in October, November and December," he added.
