Zeugma Mosaic Museum has hosted 3.5 million visitors in 14 years

Rescue excavations launched in 1998 in the ancient city of Zeugma, located on the banks of the Euphrates River near the Belkıs neighborhood of the Nizip district, unearthed the "Gypsy Girl" mosaic, the "Mars statue" and many other artifacts in Roman-era villas.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism built the Zeugma Mosaic Museum on the Silk Road in the central Şehitkamil district, with a modern museum approach, on a total area of ​​30,000 square meters, 25,000 of which is covered, to exhibit the works.

The museum, which opened to visitors with a ceremony held on September 9, 2011, also houses exhibition and conference halls where cultural and artistic events are held.

Zeugma Mosaic Museum, one of the largest mosaic museums in the world, has the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Award.

The museum, where 12 pieces of the "Gypsy Girl" mosaic, which was returned to Türkiye from the United States after 52 years in 2018, are exhibited, features a total of 150 works.

Zeugma Mosaic Museum, which is one of the top places visited by local and foreign tourists coming to the region, was opened in 2011 by 71 thousand 323 people, in 2012 by 169 thousand 38 people, in 2013 by 179 thousand 297 people, in 2014 by 206 thousand 684 people, in 2015 by 178 thousand 995 people, in 2016 by 108 thousand 835 people, in 2017 by 169 thousand 773 people, in 2018 by 267 thousand 552 people, in 2019 by 340 thousand 569 people, in 2020 by 99 thousand 643 people, in 2021 by 249 thousand 932 people, in 2022 by 424 thousand 989 people, in 2023 by 217 thousand 773 people. A total of 3 million 536 thousand 460 people visited, including 920 in 2024, 466 thousand 102 and 385 thousand 808 in the first 8 months of this year.

Gaziantep Museum Director Özgür Çomak told an AA correspondent that Zeugma is one of the most important museums in the world.

Çomak, who stated that the museum houses very important mosaics from Roman and Greek mythologies, especially the "Gypsy Girl," said that visitors flock to the museum.

Çomak stated that the number of visitors is increasing every year and added:

We've reached 385,000 visitors so far this year. With autumn tourism, we anticipate this number will surpass 2024 figures by the end of the year. We've had a fast start to 2025 in terms of visitors. On May 17, 2025, we broke the all-time daily visitor record with 8,167 visitors. Now that we've entered autumn, tours are becoming more frequent. Gypsy Girl is a brand and a very important work not only in Türkiye but also internationally.

Çomak explained that the museum hosts various cultural and artistic events throughout the year and continued:

"We are a child-friendly museum. As part of the protocol we signed with the Provincial Directorate of National Education during the academic year, we bring a class here every day, excluding official holidays and weekends, under the coordination of a museum instructor. The museum is toured, museum education is provided, and various drama performances are organized."

Travel agency manager Ergin Erol stated that Zeugma is one of the places that attracts people the most, and said:

The museum here, which houses the Gypsy Girl, attracts tourists as one of the world's largest mosaic museums. Most visitors are most curious about it. The Zeugma Mosaic Museum comes first, followed by gastronomy and culture.

Tour guide Hasan Erdoğan, noting that he has been guiding mostly in the Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia regions for 34 years, said, "The Zeugma Mosaic Museum has a significant impact on GAP tours. The Gypsy Girl, in particular, is a source of much curiosity in Türkiye."

One of the visitors, Mümine Gökaslan, stated that they came from Kocaeli out of curiosity for the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, saying, "It's very impressive that such beautiful workmanship existed even in that era. I especially think everyone should see the Gypsy Girl mosaic."