Türkiye's first and only ice museum, which opened in the eastern province of Erzurum, has become one of the country's focal points for winter tourism, hosting over 100,000 visitors so far.

The Ata Ice Museum, the only establishment of its kind in Türkiye, was opened in cooperation with Atatürk University and the Northeast Anatolian Development Agency (KUDAKA). It opened in 2020 at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Atatürk University in Erzurum, a city with a cold, harsh winter, Erzurum, eastern Türkiye, Dec. 30, 2022.

Since its opening in 2020, the museum hosted numerous solo exhibits and others under the themes "Republic and Child" and "Salt and Ice (Tuz Buz)." It displayed frozen works such as igloo homes and sculptures of Türkiye, its flag, a phoenix, the Trojan horse, Göbeklitepe and important symbols of Erzurum.

The museum, which contains ice sculptures illuminated with special lighting systems, takes visitors on a journey through the poles. But put on your coats, as it's cold inside.

Noting that many of the museum-goers came from schools, Mustafa Bulat, dean of the Fine Arts Faculty said that more than 100,000 visitors came to the museum.

It also has works of art concerned with social issues on display, professor Bulat said. "The theme in our museum constantly changes. In about three to five months, the ice works are deformed, and we update our museum with new projects instead," he explained.

The museum is constantly active, with students in sculpture departments taking elective ice sculpture courses in the museum, the dean said. Professor Mustafa Bulat stands in the ice museum.

As it gains international recognition, particularly via social media promotions, museum administrators plan to apply for the European Museum Award, making it a well-known brand.

Bulat stressed that they plan to organize an event in February with the participation of around 10 foreign artists by working with a private company.

The museum is also home to ice sculptures of important locations in Anatolia. "For example, there is a project from Sanliurfa's Göbeklitepe, which is described as the 'zero point in time' dating back 12,000 years and is a site on the UNESCO World Heritage List," Bulat said.

"While people were unable to leave their homes during the pandemic, children were able to visit this location easily," Bulat said.

The museum owns eight machines that make blocs of transparent ice to be used for sculptures to be displayed in the two-floor exhibition area of 400 square meters (about 4,300 square feet) and displayed for visitors.

As the museum is home to around 250-300 ice works, Bulat said they were always ready to host local and foreign visitors.