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Istanbul museum card

Ramat Gan, Israel
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62 posts
146 reviews
81 helpful votes
Istanbul museum card
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Hello there. I'm checking the museum card website on a daily basis to try and buy the e-ticket before coming to Istanbul, but it's still doesn't work. Any idea what's going on with it?

Thanks and have a good weekend.

Istanbul, Turkiye
Level Contributor
56,223 posts
64 reviews
253 helpful votes
1. Re: Istanbul museum card
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amirag, Have a look at a very recent thread: "http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293974-i368-k7457122-Museum_Pass_Mysteries-Istanbul.html". I suggest that you get a museum pass.

enigma...

Ramat Gan, Israel
Level Contributor
62 posts
146 reviews
81 helpful votes
2. Re: Istanbul museum card
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Hey enigma. Thanks again. I surely plan to buy one but I'm trying for weeks to buy it in advance online, and I can't because it always says it's on renovation.

Istanbul, Turkiye
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56,223 posts
64 reviews
253 helpful votes
3. Re: Istanbul museum card
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amirag, Museum Pass sales page is NOT on renovation. "https://www.muze.gov.tr/buy_museum_pass".

enigma...

Ramat Gan, Israel
Level Contributor
62 posts
146 reviews
81 helpful votes
4. Re: Istanbul museum card
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Hello enigma

The main page works.

But when I go to the e ticket purchase

It says the page is on renovation.

You can only buy muze card and send it in Turkey, that's not really helping when you're a tourist.

Istanbul, Turkiye
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56,223 posts
64 reviews
253 helpful votes
5. Re: Istanbul museum card
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amirag, You can have them send it to your hotel and when you go there you can pick it up. Or you can buy it from the following hotels: "http://museumpassistanbuldistributor.com/places-to-purchase/", besides the museums themselves.

enigma...

Chichester, United...
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2 posts
3 reviews
6. Re: Istanbul museum card
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We were extremely disappointed in this card during our recent visit to Istanbul as it did not deliver on its promise.

We read about the Museum Card in our guide book, which listed the museums which were covered and recommended it both as money-saving and time-saving, as it allowed one to avoid the ticket office queues. We worked out that although we were interested in visiting only three museums - Haghia Sofia, Topkapi and Kariye - we would not lose out financially and it would be worth our while to purchase it just to sidestep the queues. We enquired about it further at our hotel, who had printed information on display and confirmed what we had learned from our guide book, including the list of museums. On asking where to buy the ticket, the receptionist directed us to the official van at Haghia Sofia. Having located the van without difficulty and queued for a short while, we were stunned to be told that "only Turkish people" could purchase tickets there and everybody else was required to go to the main ticket office.... What discrimination! We therefore had no option but to join the enormous queue at the museum ticket office which took up most of the morning.

There are huge hoardings outside the main museums and around Istanbul, along the tramlines for instance, advertising the Museum Card and listing the museums which it covers, including the Kariye/Chora Museum. We made a special trip out to the Western District to visit this museum which was highly recommended in our guide book. On presenting our cards at the entrance, we were informed that the Kariye was not covered by our cards as they were only three-day cards and that only a five-day card allowed access to the Kariye.... We therefore had to purchase tickets at £10-00 each in order to visit the museum. And to add insult to injury, we found once we got inside that the whole of the nave was closed for restoration and only the narthex and a small side chapel were available for viewing. We had not been informed of this when buying our tickets but the staff's only reply was that there was "plenty to see" and their lack of interest and attitude was amazing - we really wondered whether they had some kind of a scam going. When the major part of a museum is closed, it is dishonourable not to warn visitors of this before they buy a ticket.

We informed our hotel reception staff of these incidents - they were as shocked as we had been to find that they had been giving all their guests incorrect information in good faith.

Our experience led us to the conclusion that the Istanbul Museum Card can be a rip-off and the authorities need to look into the matter urgently as tourists are being cheated. We ended up by losing out financially with the card as we were only able to use it at Haghia Sofia and Topkapi, and it would have been cheaper to buy separate tickets for each venue. So think carefully about buying the card.

Istanbul, Turkiye
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56,223 posts
64 reviews
253 helpful votes
7. Re: Istanbul museum card
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Isabel, If you had done a bit of a research at these forums initially and at the museum pass website, you would have seen all that information that seem to have surprised you so much. You would have seen that museum pass and museum card available only for Turkish citizens are two entirely different type of cards, that only 5 days museum pass covers the Chora Church, that Chora Church is under partial restoration, and that you could have bought your museum pass online and have it shipped to your hotel waiting for your pick up or have your hotel buy them for you. All these are clearly explained at the following links. "http://muze.gov.tr/museum_pass", and "http://museumpassistanbuldistributor.com/places-to-purchase/", and "http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293974-i368-k7464184-List_of_ongoing_restoration_works_in_Istanbul_May_2014-Istanbul.html".

enigma...

London, United...
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2,280 posts
1,003 reviews
746 helpful votes
8. Re: Istanbul museum card
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It is much safer to buy museum card once you are in Istanbul.

Toronto
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516 posts
237 reviews
99 helpful votes
9. Re: Istanbul museum card
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I'm in Istanbul now and have seen the museum card for sale at machines at the entrance of Topkapi, on the east side of Sultanahmet park, and from a van outside the archeology museum. I noticed they all took cash only.

Again this is from what I saw the last 3 days almost all of them had no queue

The New Forest, UK
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5,002 posts
10 reviews
21 helpful votes
10. Re: Istanbul museum card
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The Museum Card (Müzekart) is only for Turkish citizens and residents - http://www.muze.gov.tr/museumcard_about

The Museum Pass is the one for foreign tourists - http://www.muze.gov.tr/museum_pass

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