The Zeugma Mosaic Museum, which houses many important works, including the famous "Gypsy Girl" mosaic, welcomed a surge of visitors on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, in Gaziantep. As one of the largest mosaic museums in the world, it attracts attention as one of the first stops for tourists embarking on a tour of southeastern Türkiye.
The museum, which operates under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is home to hundreds of masterpieces, including the "Gypsy Girl," the "Mars statue," fountains from the Roman era and mosaics found in villas along the Euphrates River. Additionally, the museum has won the Presidential Cultural and Arts Grand Award.
On the first day of Eid, the museum saw a surge of visitors, with long lines forming at the entrance. Between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., 3,650 people visited the museum.
Eyüp Havaslı, who came to Gaziantep from Ankara with his family, shared with Anadolu Agency (AA) that they were on a southeastern tour. He admired the museum: "I found this place to be very beautiful. Here, we can see the artistic richness that existed in the past. The most famous work here is the 'Gypsy Girl.' I had researched it before, but I didn't know the museum was so rich."
Havaslı, who did not expect the museum to be so crowded, mentioned he had waited 10 minutes in line at the entrance. He added that, without a museum card, he would have had to wait in line for tickets as well.
"We arrived in Gaziantep yesterday and toured the castle area on the first day," Havaslı said. "I'll take my daughter to the zoo after visiting the museum. Then, we'll move on to Mardin and Şanlıurfa to complete our southeastern tour."
Ceylan Açık, who came on a tour from Van, said: "It's wonderful and majestic; we liked it a lot. I had heard of and researched it before, so I was curious to visit. We planned this trip because of that. I didn’t expect it to be this crowded; it's very busy. Seeing so much attention given to historical places like this is nice. It's a dazzling place and I liked it."
Şeyda Alan, who came on a tour from Konya, central Türkiye, commented: "There are beautiful works here. I know Gaziantep because of its famous cuisine, and I really like it."
She highlighted that this was her first time seeing Zeugma and concluded: "There are wonderful works here. People left behind such wonderful things in the past. Hopefully, we can leave such beautiful things for future generations as well. The 'Snake Mosaic Girl' had the most impact on me. The museum is quite crowded and it's wonderful to see so many people valuing their history."
