Tuesday, August 19, 2008

8,000 Museum-Goers Daily!

Konya Staff report, "Mevlana Museum may require appointments" - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Mevlana Museum in Konya, which also houses the tomb of the 13th-century Sufi saint and poet Mevlana Muhammad Jelaluddin Rumi, is considering accepting visitors through an appointment system in the coming months.

A commission that recently completed a study on the five-century-old structure urged museum officials to limit the number of visitors to the museum, where they said some of the walls were damaged.

The museum draws approximately 8,000 museum-goers daily, a high number for the 16th-century structure to tolerate, noted the members of the commission. In a report released this week they further said the building was in need of restoration.

Mevlana Museum Deputy Director Naci Bakırcı said a limit to the number of visitors to the museum might be implemented after a scheduled meeting of the Provincial Committee for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Assets.

He said that "an appointment system, which is already being implemented in European museums, might be put into practice."

If the committee decides that the building should undergo restoration, the work could take up to two years to complete.

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