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Mugla recorded a strong rise in cultural tourism in 2025, with museums and archaeological sites across the province welcoming about 1.3 million visitors, according to official figures released on Jan. 7.
The increase reflects expanded excavation work, broader international promotion, and growing interest in the region’s layered history, from ancient Caria and Lycia to the Ottoman era.
Provincial authorities say the figure marks a clear break from previous years, when annual visitor numbers remained below one million. The data covers visits to five museums and multiple archaeological sites where excavations continue.
Mugla hosts over 1,000 known ancient settlements and dozens of major sites open to visitors. Many appear on UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List and attract attention beyond the summer beach season, reinforcing Mugla’s role in Turkish cultural tourism across Türkiye.
Among the most visited locations in 2025 were the ancient city of Knidos and Kayakoy, often referred to as the ghost village. In the museum category, the Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum ranked first, followed by the Marmaris Museum.
Mugla Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Huseyin Toprak said the province stands out nationally due to the scale of its archaeological heritage.
“Mugla has a very important cultural heritage,” Toprak said. “Türkiye is very active in archaeological finds and research. Within our country, Mugla and Antalya lead in this field. In Mugla, there are more than 1,000 ancient settlements.”
Toprak added that archaeological work continues at 25 sites across the province.
A key driver behind the rise in visitor numbers has been the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Heritage for the Future project, which expanded excavation seasons from a few months to the entire year at selected sites. Twelve excavation areas in Mugla now operate year-round.
“This year we hosted around 1 million 300 thousand visitors, and the number will keep increasing in the coming years,” Toprak said.
“This creates a major opportunity to extend the tourism season to 12 months. New data from the excavations has started to attract strong curiosity worldwide. Every new piece of data we obtain draws interest in archaeology and in scientific terms.”
Officials say the shift to continuous excavation has also supported local employment and increased the visibility of Mugla’s cultural assets among international visitors.
The most visited sites in 2025 included Stratonikeia and Lagina in Yatagan, Becan, Labranda, Euromos, and Herakleia in Milas, Kaunos in Koycegiz, and Knidos in Datca. These locations contain remains from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Menteshe Beylik, and Ottoman periods, offering visitors a broad historical timeline within a single province.
Toprak said the Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum was the most visited museum in the province in 2025.
“The Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum, located in Bodrum Castle, was the most visited museum,” he said. “Marmaris Museum ranked second. Knidos Ancient City ranked first among archaeological sites, while Kayakoy was the second most visited site.”
The museum stands out as the only underwater archaeology museum in Türkiye and is widely regarded as having one of the richest underwater collections in the world.
Officials also pointed to the introduction of night museum visits at Bodrum Castle, approved by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, which drew strong public interest throughout the year.
Authorities expect visitor numbers to continue rising in the coming years as year-round excavations expand, museum access increases, and Mugla further positions itself as a central destination for Turkish cultural tourism in Türkiye.
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