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Starting from just €26 per day!

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• Free access to  100+  top attractions and tours
• Huge savings up to  80%
• Starting from just  €26!

The only city pass that includes many exclusive attractions such as   Topkapi Palace Museum Guided Tour  with  Harem and many more !

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Why choose Istanbul Tourist Pass®?

Pick a 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 or 10 day Istanbul Tourist Pass® and enjoy all these included benefits. Save up to 80% and more

Free access to 100+ top attractions

All the best stuff to do is free with Pass.

Flexibility to decide on the day

Plan your trip however you like.

Easy to use, digital & no contact

Simply scan your phone for entries.

Save time & money. Guaranteed!

Keep your calendar and pocket happy.

Skip the long ticket and entry lines

Feel like a VIP with fast track access.

Explore top Istanbul attractions with Istanbul Tourist Pass®

Get free access to 100+ top attractions, tours and essential local services with Istanbul Tourist Pass® with over 80% savings. Starting from just €26!

Guided Museum Tours

Hagia sophia & path of byzantine guided tour, book in advance, guided tours.

Explore 1500 Years of History on the Path of Byzantine Hagia Sophia is one of the most visited attractio...

Regular Sales Price €25

Towers & Observation Decks

Camlica Tower Observation Deck Admission Ticket

Audio guides.

View Istanbul from the Tallest Building in the City!Camlica Tower, also known as Camlica TV and Radio Tow...

Regular Sales Price €18

Sightseeing & Bosphorus Cruise

Bosphorus dinner cruise with turkish shows.

How about a Bosphorus dinner and a night cruise? Cruising the Bosphorus at night is one of the most memo...

Regular Sales Price €70

Topkapi Palace Museum Guided Tour with Harem & Hagia Irene Including Entrance Tickets

Explore The Magnificent Topkapi Palace Are you ready to explore the magnificent history of Topkapi Palac...

Regular Sales Price €60

Shows & Entertainment

Whirling dervishes show ticket.

Are you ready for the Whirling Dervish Show, the most mystical dance in the world? The whirling dervish ...

Regular Sales Price €35

Historical Landmarks

Galata tower entrance ticket.

See Istanbul from the Windows of History! Galata Tower Museum is one of the must-do attractions and the ...

Regular Sales Price €30

Maiden's Tower Self-Guided Audio Tour with Entrance Ticket

Unveiling the Mysteries of Maiden's Tower: A Journey of Legends and RomanceWelcome to the captivating Mai...

Regular Sales Price €27

Airport Transfers & Transportation

Unlimited istanbul public transportation card.

Unlimited Istanbul Public Transportation Card Istanbul City Card is a prepaid public transportation card...

Regular Sales Price €26

Le Vapeur Magique - Morning Turkish Breakfast Cruise

The Only Historical Cruise in IstanbulYou are invited to an unforgettableworld-famous traditional T...

Dolmabahce Palace Museum Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket

Discover the Iconic Residence of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire! Get ready to dive into thousands of ...

Also visiting Cappadocia?

Access All of Cappadocia with One Pass including Discounted Balloon Ride and 35+ Top Attractions , Tours and Experiences with Cappadocia Travel Pass® with over 70% savings .

How does Istanbul Tourist Pass® work?

Very easy! You can start using your Istanbul Tourist Pass® in  4 EASY STEPS!

1 Purchase your Istanbul Tourist Pass® online.

2 Download the Istanbul Tourist Pass® app and log in

3 Go to any attraction you want! Most of them are walk-in but some require pre-reservation, which you can make in 15 seconds

4 Scan your QR code or Pass ID at entries, to our guides or to the gatekeepers. Enjoy!

See saving examples

Three day saving with the Istanbul Tourist Pass®

• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise with Turkish Shows €70
• Hagia Sophia & Path of Byzantine Guided Tour €25
• Topkapi Palace Museum Guided Tour with Harem & Hagia Irene Including Entrance Tickets €60
• Basilica Cistern Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket €30
• Istanbul Archaeological Museums Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket €27
• Dolmabahce Palace Museum Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket €60
• Bosphorus Sightseeing Cruise with Audio Guide €5
• Great Palace Mosaics Museum Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket €7
• Le Vapeur Magique - Morning Turkish Breakfast Cruise €60
• Whirling Dervishes Show Ticket €35
• Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket €30
• Grand Bazaar Guided Tour €10
• The Old City Segway Guided Tour €50

3 Days Saving

Total gate price cost of visiting these attractions

Price of buying a 3-day Istanbul Tourist Pass®

How much you save with Istanbul Tourist Pass®

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Organize your Group Trip!

If you are organizing a trip for your own group, ITP Group Pass is perfect for you. We will help you save money, time and the hassle of having to organize every attraction and tour separately! Just sit back and relax, we will do all that for you.

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Special Offers & Discounts with Istanbul Tourist Pass®

Extra Benefits of Istanbul Tourist Pass®

With your Istanbul Tourist Pass® you will get 10 – 50% discounts from many reputable cafés, restaurants, pubs, venues, brands and hotels

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Download your free Istanbul Tourist Pass® guidebook. We’ll send everything you need to plan your trip straight to your inbox.

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Istanbul tourist pass®, work with us, other links, popular attractions.

• Hagia Sophia
• Topkapi Palace
• Dolmabahce Palace
• Basilica Cistern
• Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum
• Blue Mosque
• Grand Bazaar
• Galata Tower
• Maiden's Tower
• Suleymaniye Mosque
• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise
• Whirling Dervishes Show
• Madame Tussauds
• Sea Life Aquarium
• Zippline Nakkastepe
• Istanbul Airport Shuttle
• Istanbul Transportation Card
• Private Airport Transfer
• Unlimited Internet Access
• Whatsapp Instant Support
• View All 100+

FREE Entry to Top Istanbul Attractions

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Istanbul E-pass

Sightseeing city pass, Best way to get around Istanbul. FREE entry to top Istanbul Attractions. All in 1 digital pass.

Top Istanbul Attractions | Free entry with Istanbul E-pass | 2, 3, 5 or 7 days

Topkapi Palace Museum Guided Tour Price without pass €47 Free with Istanbul E-pass

Hagia Sophia (Outer Visit) Guided Tour Price without pass €14 Free with Istanbul E-pass

Basilica Cistern Guided Tour Price without pass €26 Free with Istanbul E-pass

Bosphorus Cruise Tour with Dinner and Turkish Shows Price without pass €35 Free with Istanbul E-pass

See All Attractions

Istanbul E-pass Benefits

Istanbul E-pass offers you huge savings on admission prices. Save up to 70% and more…

Saving Guarantee

If you visit less then you paid, get refund of the rest amount.

Flexible Travel

Passes are valid 2 years from the date of purchase

Contactless Entry

All in one digital pass. Show your pass and get in.

Top Attractions

Free Admission to top Istanbul attraction and tours

Save over 50% on gate prices with Istanbul E-pass

You´d save € 133,00 with this example itinerary

How much you’ll save with Istanbul E-Pass

Buy your pass now See sample itineraries

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Istanbul Tourist Pass: 100+ Attractions & Services

All of your sightseeing plans, sorted! The Pass will let you skip ticket lines, save you money and guide you around all the best attractions in the city!

Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a refund

Our online payment system encrypts your payment information to protect you against fraud and unauthorized transactions.

Our Best Price Guarantee means that you can be sure of your booking at the best rate with the same terms&conditions.

Duration 2 Year

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So you've booked your flights and accommodation in Istanbul. Perfect. What's the next step? Book your Istanbul Tourist Pass! The Istanbul Tourist Pass covers almost everything else you'll need on your trip! Airport transfers, guided tours of the top museums and palaces in Istanbul and access to many other fun activities and experiences, including a variety of evening entertainment. Perhaps you want to see the traditional Whirling Dervishes or maybe you'd rather cruise the Bosphorus and watch belly dancing and other fun performances after an authentic Turkish dinner? The choice is yours. You get access to 100+ attractions, experiences and services included in your Istanbul Tourist Pass. That's all your sightseeing and entertainment plans covered! You can join our guided tours and skip the long ticket lines, plus learn about the history of this amazing city without having to do all the research yourself! Spend more of your valuable holiday time exploring the city. You can even go on a day trip to the first capital city of the Ottoman Empire, Bursa. The cost is included in your Istanbul Tourist Pass so you can see more of Turkey at no extra cost!  We also provide free WhatsApp support to all of our customers so you can contact travel experts for help with any problems you have and avoid headaches as you venture around the city.  By choosing Istanbul Tourist Pass, you will save up to 75% off normal ticket prices. Get yours today!

• Admission to top attractions in Istanbul
• Dinner Cruise and Whirling Dervish Show
• Skip-the-line guided tours
• Assistance over WhatsApp everyday from 09:00 to 18:00 (Istanbul time)
• Attractions & Services
• Hagia Sophia Museum (Guided Tour)
• Topkapı Palace (Guided Tour)
• Dolmabahçe Palace (Guided Tour)
• Galata Tower Entrance
• Basilica Cistern (Guided Tour)
• Suleymaniye Mosque (Audio Guide)
• Byzantine Hippodrome (Guided Tour)
• Hagia Irene Museum (Guided Tour)
• Bursa Day Trip
• Sapanca Lake & Masukiye Day Trip
• Sile & Agva Day Trip
• Istanbul Segway Tours
• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise with Turkish Shows
• Whirling Dervishes Show
• The Rhythm of the Dance Show
• Madame Tussauds Istanbul Entrance
• Museum of Illusions Istanbul Entrance (Istiklal & Anatolia)
• Museum of Selfies Istanbul Entrance
• Miniaturk Park Istanbul Entrance
• Adam Mickiewicz Museum
• Wox Turkey Illusion and Toy Museum
• Sea Life Aquarium Entrance
• Emaar Aquarium and Underwater Zoo Entrance
• Istanbul Aquarium Entrance
• Sapphire Observation Deck
• Skyride 4D Simulation
• Istanbul Airport Shuttle One Way
• Blue Mosque (Guided Tour)
• Grand Bazaar (Guided Tour)
• Eyup Sultan Mosque Entrance
• Pierre Loti (Sky Tram)
• Maidens Tower Entrance & Roundtrip Boat Transfer
• Private Airport Transfer (With surcharge)
• Bosphorus Cruise (90 Mins)
• Princes' Island Roundtrip Boat Trip
• Hop on Hop Off Bosphorus Boat Tour
• Legoland Discovery Centre Istanbul Entrance
• Xtrem Aventures Istanbul High Rope Tracks
• Flyzone Entrance Demiroren-Torium-Mall of Istanbul-Lens Istanbul
• Pera Museum Entrance
• Sakıp Sabancı Museum Entrance
• Besiktas Football Club's Museum
• Istanbul Toy Museum
• Balat Toy Museum
• Ural Ataman Classic Car Museum
• Frankenstein Horror Hous
• Dialogue in the Dark
• Dialogue in the Silence
• Jungle Park IsfanbulEntrance
• Dungeon Isfanbul Entrance
• Safari Isfanbul Entrance
• Mirror Maze Istanbul Entrance
• Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum (Guided Tour)
• VR Helicopter - Flyride 
• SkyRide 4D Simulation Ride
• Turkish Marbling Workshop Experience
• Istanbul Party Pub Crawl (Discounted)
• Photo Shoot in Ottoman Style
• Upside Down House Photo Experience
• Unlimited Public Transportation Card for Tourists (Add-on)
• Special offers and discounts (check from the website)
• Whatsapp Traveler Support between 9 am to 6 pm
•  Public Transportation Card

About İstanbul Tourist Pass®

Istanbul Tourist Pass® is the first tourist city card introduced in Istanbul that provides free access to more than 100 tourist attractions including museum entrances, sightseeing tours, and many more. 

It is created in 2015 by CityBerry which has 25+ years of experience in Tourism. Experience is very important in tourism because only an experienced team can fully understand the needs of visitors and provide the necessary services. 

İstanbul Tourist Pass® is not a card that only gathers different attractions from different providers but they have their own team of tourist guides. The professional guides of the Pass offer tours to Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Dolmabahce Palace, Basilica Cistern, and Grand Bazaar. These historically important amazing places should be visited with a knowledgeable guide so visitors can get the most out of them. 

It is very easy to buy and use İstanbul Tourist Pass® since it has a great website and an app you can easily download. It is a completely digital card so you don’t need to print anything, just your smartphone is enough to join tours and visit museums. 

There are 1-day, 2-day, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 10-day pass options so you can decide the length of your trip. You can buy it wherever you are on Internet so you don’t have to buy it prior although we always suggest you buy earlier to not be affected by price changes. 

By the end of 2022, there are more than 250,000 passes sold by the company and they have a 98.7% customer recommendation rating which is incredibly successful if you think! On its website, you can check out the user reviews. It is important to have a reliable tourism agency backing your Pass when you are in a foreign country. 

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In order to pay for each attraction, you can use this pass and save up to 70% and more. Upon your purchase the pass, you’ll receive the pass right to your email address instantly and will be ready to use at upon arrival.

Insider Advice: Kickstart your Istanbul adventure with the Istanbul E-Pass or Istanbul Tourist Pass . These passes provide free access to around 70+ top attractions, tours and essential local services in the city with around 70% savings .

There are four types of Istanbul E-Pass (2, 3, 5 or 7-Day Pass) .

Valid for 2 to 7 days depending the pass you buy, starting from your first activation.

Prices of the e-pass varies with the validity date. See below:

• 2 Day Pass : €95 /adult • €55 /child
• 3 Day Pass : €115 /adult • €65 /child
• 5 Day Pass : €135 /adult • €75 /child
• 7 Day Pass : €145 /adult • €90 /child

What’s included?

You’ll get access to below 35+ attractions and services with about 70% discount . All the regular prices of the attractions and tours cost about total €412 , and with Istanbul E-Pass starting from €95 , you will save over €250 !!!

Guided Museum/Attraction Tours

• Hagia Sophia (Guided Tour)
• Topkapi Palace Museum (Guided Tour)
• Basilica Cistern (Guided Tour)
• Museum of Illusions Istanbul Istiklal
• Dolmabahce Palace (Guided Tour)
• Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Istanbul
• Blue Mosque (Guided Tour)
• Grand Bazaar (Guided Tour)
• Hagia Irene (Guided Tour)
• Serefiye Cistern (Guided Tour)
• Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (Guided Tour)
• Museum of Illusions Istanbul Anatolia

Experiences

• Sea Life Aquarium Istanbul
• Bursa Day Trip
• Bosphorus Cruise Tour with Dinner and Turkish Shows
• Sapanca Lake & Masukiye Day Tour
• Bosphorus Cruise
• Hop-on Hop-off Bosphorus Cruise
• Princes’ Islands Boat Trip from Eminonu (round-trip)
• Sapphire Observation Deck
• Sile & Agva Day trip tour from Istanbul
• Skyride 4D Simulation (Sapphire)
• Princes’ Islands Roundtrip Ferry from Kabatas Port
• Istanbul Airport Shuttle
• Private Istanbul Airport Transfer

How much will I save?

The regular prices (at the ticket window on location) of above attractions worth a total value of €412 , and with Istanbul E-Pass ;

• 3 Day Pass :  you’ll save  save €101
• 5 Day Pass :  you’ll save  save €170
• 7 Day Pass : you’ll save  save €267

Things to know before you buy

* Istanbul E-Pass is an online/digital pass .

* You’ll get digital pass for admission to included attractions.

We Highly Recommend These Fantastic Night-time Activities

* All support is provided in English .

* Valid for 2, 3, 5 or 7 consecutive days .

How to Use the Istanbul E-Pass?

Purchasing process.

* Visit Istanbul E-Pass website and choose your 2, 3,5, or 7 days pass

* Buy online with your credit card and you’ll immediately receive a pass to your email address.

* You can than access your account and start to manage your reservations. For walk-in attractions, you don’t need to manage, you can just show your pass and get in.

* Note that you’ll need to make reservation for several attractions like Bursa Day Trip, Bosphorus Dinner Cruise, and this can easily be made from your E-pass account.

Buy Your Istanbul E-Pass Online Now

How to buy istanbul e-pass.

We recommend you to buy the Istanbul E-Pass from their official website. Just hit the red button below get your e-pass.

You can cancel all reservations for free with a FULL REFUND up to 24 hours in advance.

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Which Istanbul Tourist Pass is Best?

With over 1 million tours provided, our guides are always being asked about the best ways to save money on popular attractions around the city.

In this post, we'll use details from our best guides regarding each of the passes available in Istanbul Turkey.

We'll also include advice from popular Istanbul travel groups on Facebook, to give you an idea of what locals and travelers think about these services.

Before You Buy

• All-Inclusive
• Prepackaged
• Build Your Own

Museum Pass

• Is it Worth it?

There are a wide variety of tourist passes offered in Istanbul, each offering significant deals on entrance fees for popular activities throughout the city.

Before you make any decisions about which ones to buy, it’ll be important to understand how each service works in order to save as much money as possible.

The main difference between each pass is which attractions are included, but you can usually expect to find deals on admission to some of the following locations and tours:

• Galata Tower
• Topkapi Palace
• Basilica Cistern
• Bosphorus Cruise
• Grand Bazaar Tour
• Hagia Sophia Museums
• Popular museums (Madame Tussauds, Museum of Illusions, etc.)
• Outdoor activities (Zipline, Climbing Walls, Parkour, etc.)
• Public transport cards and airport transfers

If you’re interested in any of these activities, chances are you’ll find a low cost pass below that will help you save money on skip-the-line tickets.

We’ll include tips for each service to help you find the right one for your needs, but first let’s take a look at the difference between each pass.

All-Inclusive Pass

This type of pass allows you to access a wide variety of top attractions and activities over the course of 1-10 days.

The more days your pass is active, the less you’ll pay per day, and the more likely it is you’ll be able to use it for everything you want. 

These tend to be the most expensive tourist passes, but they also usually offer the best potential to save money. 

Depending on how you use these passes, you could save 50% or more off general admission prices.

If you’re planning to fit as many activities as possible into each day of your trip to Istanbul, this will probably be the best type of pass for your needs. 

The more attractions you visit, the more money you’ll save!

Prepackaged Pass

If you’re only interested in a few specific activities and you don’t want to get too carried away while visiting Istanbul, you might want to consider this type of pass.

Prepackaged passes provide admission to a predetermined set of attractions for one low price. 

Although you won’t usually save as much money with a service like this, they often include deals of 10% - 20% off additional activities that aren’t included with the main pass.

This type of pass typically includes entry to historic attractions and museums, tours, and audio guides. You can also expect a cruise and even a public transport card!

Build Your Own Pass

This is a relatively uncommon type of pass nowadays, but there is at least one such service in Istanbul as of 2024.

A build your own pass is typically active for a much longer period than any other competitors, and it allows you to enjoy a specific concession on every attraction you choose.

Although the concession provided by these passes is typically capped at around 20%, at least you’ll only have to pay for the activities you actually want to enjoy.

This might not be the best option for every traveler, but it’s definitely worth considering if you’re trying to save some money while visiting Istanbul.

As the name implies, this type of pass covers the cost of admission for a wide range of museums located all over Istanbul for one flat price. This is one of the more affordable tourist passes in the city.

Unfortunately, this service does not include any tours, cruises, or other activities you will find on other tourist passes.

If all you want is to see the best museums in the city, this is an excellent option. However, if you’re interested in doing a bit more than that, you might want to consider something else.

Thankfully, some of the other passes on our list actually include the Istanbul Museum Pass at no additional cost!

You might be shocked to find that there is actually a free tourist pass in Istanbul. Before you get too excited, it should be noted that this service does not include free admission to any notable attractions; instead, this pass offers deals on a wide variety of activities.

This service offers up to 30% off at a variety of shops, restaurants, and other businesses. If you’re interested in saving money without spending any money upfront, this is going to be your best bet.

All-Inclusive Passes

There are currently at least two all-inclusive pass options in Istanbul, and they each include admission to dozens of attractions over the course of multiple days for one low price.

Istanbul Tourist Pass

This pass covers the cost of admission for over 85 popular attractions, tours, and other services throughout the city. 

The pass is available for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 days, and they advertise that you can save up to 80%.

It’s more likely that you’ll save closer to 50% off, but it’s definitely possible to save even more.

Here are just a handful of the most notable activities included with the Istanbul Tourist Pass:

• Hagia Sophia
• Whirling Dervishes
• Madame Tussauds
• SEALIFE Aquarium
• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise
• Sapphire Observation Deck
• LEGOLAND Discovery Centre
• Safari Theme Park

In addition to these attractions, this pass also includes deals on special services such as a mobile hotspot and an unlimited public transportation card.

An airport shuttle is provided at no extra cost, but they also offer a concessionary private transfer if you don’t feel like getting on a coach. 

Another thing worth noting about the Istanbul Tourist Pass is that it covers the cost of several outdoor activities for free, including the following examples:

• Climbing Walls
• Carousel & Ferris Wheel
• Mini Football Experience
• Adventurous Ropes Parkour

Here are the prices you can expect to pay for each pass based on the length of its duration:

• 1-Day Pass: €120/Adults | €90/Children
• Price per Day: €75/Adults | €57.50/Children
• Price per Day: €60/Adults | €46.66/Children
• Price per Day: €48.75/Adults | €37.50/Children
• Price per Day: €42/Adults | €33/Children
• Price per Day: €33.57/Adults | €25.71/Children
• Price per Day: €26/Adults | €19.50/Children

Purchase the Istanbul Tourist Pass or learn more .

Things to Consider

As you can see, the lowest price per day is with the 10-day pass, at just €26 for Adults and €19.50 for Children. Many of the attractions included are between €20-€40, but it should be noted that there are also a lot of activities that usually cost less than €10.

Although it would certainly be easy to save a lot of money using a 10-day pass, even if you choose a much shorter option, you can still get a great deal. Here’s a sample itinerary for a 3-day pass to show you what we mean:

• Topkapi Palace Guided Tour | €46
• Madame Tussauds | €18
• Hagia Sophia History & Experience Museum | €25
• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise | €70
• Istanbul Segway Tour | €50
• SEALIFE Aquarium | €20
• Spice Bazaar Audio Guide | €10
• Whirling Dervishes Show | €40
• Sapphire Observation Deck | €10
• Basilica Cistern Guided Tour | €29
• LEGOLAND Discovery Center | €20
• VR Helicopter - Flyride Adventure | €19

Total Price: €180

Total Value: €357

Total Savings: €177 (50% off)

You might not save as much as they advertise, but even if you only use the pass for a few activities each day, this example shows how it’s possible to save close to 50% off general admission prices.

That saving doesn’t even include the additional concessions offered with the pass, and when you factor those deals into the value, chances are you’ll end up saving much more than half off.

If you still don't feel you saved enough to make the pass worth it, they will work with you to provide an adequate refund. In addition to that, you can also get full refunds up to 3 days before the pass is activated.

The Istanbul Tourist Pass provides access to a very diverse collection of tours, museums, historic sites, outdoor activities, cruises, and family-friendly attractions.

Furthermore, you can use this service in full via the Istanbul Tourist Pass app when you download it onto your mobile phone.

This would be an excellent option for anyone planning to stay in Istanbul for over a week, and it’s especially good for anyone who wants to fill each day with as many fun things to do as possible.

Istanbul e-Pass

Although this all-inclusive pass is similar to others, there are a few notable differences.

The e-Pass provides concessionary admission for over 60 fun activities and attractions, and it’s valid for 2, 3, 5, or 7 consecutive days.

Most of the notable tours, museums, and historical locations included with this service are the same that you will find on almost every other pass in Istanbul, including top favorites like the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Galata Tower, Basilica Cistern, and more.

Here are some of the other popular attractions included with the Istanbul e-Pass:

• Istanbul Aquarium Florya
• Dolmabahce Palace Guided Tour
• Spice Bazaar Guided Tour
• Istanbul Cinema Museum
• Rustem Pasha Mosque Tour
• Blue Mosque Guided Tour
• Hippodrome of Constantinople Tour
• Hagia Irene Museum
• Bosphorus Boat Tour
• Serefiye Cistern

In addition to these activities, this pass also offers free and low cost day trips from Istanbul to notable nearby locations such as the following:

• Sile & Agva
• Western Turkey
• Sapanca Lake and Masukiye
• Ephesus & Virgin Mary House

To be fair, many of these day trips are also included with other tourist passes in Istanbul, so this isn’t necessarily unique to the e-Pass.

Even so, it’s worth noting that if you want to do some sightseeing outside of the city center, there are plenty of options provided by this service.

Here are the current prices for the Istanbul e-Pass:

• Price per Day: €69.50/Adults | €57.50/Children
• Price per Day: €54.66/Adults | €46.66/Children
• Price per Day: €38.80/Adults | €33/Children
• Price per Day: €30.57/Adults | €25.71/Children

Purchase the Istanbul e-Pass or learn more .

Prices for this service are much more affordable than other all-inclusive passes, and it includes most of the same attractions.

Unless there’s something special that only their competitors offer, we recommend this pass if you want to save more money.

The biggest difference between this pass and its competitors is that it doesn’t include as many outdoor activities.

If you’re interested in things like wall climbing or ziplines, you’ll want to pick a different pass.

In addition to that factor, although the Istanbul e-Pass does include deals on popular services such as a private airport transfer and mobile hotspot, it doesn’t have as many extra concessions as you will find on other passes.

That said, here’s a sample itinerary to show how big of a concessions you can get using the 3-day pass:

• Topkapi Palace w/ Audio Guide | €47
• Hagia Sophia (Outer Visit) | €14
• Istanbul Aquarium Florya | €21
• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise | €35
• Dolmabahce Palace Guided Tour | €38
• Dolmabahce Palace Harem Section | €10
• Madame Tussauds | €24
• Whirling Dervishes Show | €20
• Serefiye Cistern Guided Tour | €15
• Basilica Cistern Guided Tour | €26
• LEGOLAND Discovery Centre | €24
• Sapphire Observation Deck | €15

Total Price: €164

Total Value: €289

Total Savings: €125 (43% off)

As with other all-inclusive services, the best way to save the most money is to get the pass with the longest duration and lowest price per day.

At around €30 per day, you’d only have to use the Istanbul e-Pass for 2-3 activities each day to get the best possible deal.

We recommend this pass for anyone who wants to pay less upfront and still enjoy access to a lot of the same attractions that their competitors offer.

That said, this service does not include a public transport card and it’s missing a lot of the extra deals provided by other all-inclusive passes in Istanbul. 

If you’re interested in those extras, you might want to consider another option on our list.

Istanbul TriPass

This all-inclusive pass works much the same way as others in Istanbul, offering a wide range of services over the course of 3 or 5 days for one low price.

Depending on the duration of your pass, you can expect to save up to 75% off general admission prices.

What makes the Istanbul TriPass stand out from the rest is that it includes a lot of attractions you won’t find on any other pass.

Like other all-inclusive options, it also comes with multiple deals on popular services like mobile hotspots and car rentals.

If this tourist pass has any flaws, it’s the fact that it doesn’t have as much variety as other passes, providing access to just over 30 attractions.

Of course, you can still expect admission to the big historic sites such as Topkapi Palace and Galata Tower, but you might notice a few activities missing that are present on other passes.

Here’s a short list of some of the more noteworthy activities that aren’t offered by any other all-inclusive pass:

• Vialand Theme Park
• Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour
• Derinkuyu Underground City
• Nevsehir Goreme Archeological Site
• The Basilica of St. John and Ayasuluk Castle

In addition to these attractions, this pass also includes the following interesting deals:

• 50% off Car Rental
• 10% off at Network (Clothing store)
• 10% off at Divarese (Clothing store)
• 10% off at Derimod (Clothing store)
• 20% off at ARIS Diamond Jewelers

Here are the prices you can expect to pay for the Istanbul TriPass:

• Price per day: €39.67
• Price per day: €35.80

Purchase the Istanbul TriPass or learn more .

Although this pass doesn’t provide access to nearly as many attractions as other all-inclusive services, it does include admission to at least a few tours and historic locations that their competitors don’t offer.

If you’re interested in a bus tour or perhaps your family wants to visit the Vialand Theme Park, this is an excellent way to save money on dozens of popular activities.

Here is a sample itinerary to show how much money you can save with this all-inclusive pass:

• Izmir Ephesus Ancient City | €55
• Derinkuyu Underground City | €20
• Bosphorus Dinner Cruise | €50
• Sapanca & Masukiye Day Trip | €35
• Whirling Dervish Show | €30
• Galata Tower | €31.75
• Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour | €45
• Flyzone | €10

Total Price: €119

Total Value: €277

Total Savings: €158 (57% off)

As you can see, it’s actually a lot easier to save more than 57% off using the Istanbul TriPass than it is with other all-inclusive passes. 

Even though there aren’t as many things to do, the services they do provide are often more valuable, so you end up enjoying a larger concession as a result.

This is a great option for anyone who wants an all-inclusive pass but isn’t confident in their ability to take full advantage of it.

With fewer included activities that are more valuable, you can save a lot of money without worrying about how much time you’re spending at each location.

Prepackaged Passes

At the moment, there are three prepackaged passes in Istanbul, and they offer a specific set of attractions that you can visit over the course of 5, 7, or 30 days.

Unlike all-inclusive passes, it’s not really possible to save more money by fitting as many activities as possible into each day.

Istanbul Welcome Card

This company currently offers two different cards valid for either 5 or 7 days. The 7-day pass actually doesn’t include as much as the 5-day option, and it costs less because of that.

If you want to take your time visiting some of the most notable attractions in Istanbul, this tourist pass is an excellent choice.

In addition to covering admission to most of the popular historic sites, this service also includes a public transport card (bus, tram, metro) and multiple tours.

Here are the activities included with both the 5 and 7-day Istanbul Welcome Card, as well as the prices for each option:

Deluxe Card (5 Days)

• Topkapi Palace Guided Tour
• Basilica Cistern Guided Tour
• Hagia Sophia Guided Tour
• Grand Bazaar and Spice Market Tour
• Bosphorus Cruise & Audio Guide
• Museum Pass (entry to 13 museums)
• 20-Ticket Public Transportation Card
• €171 per person

Premium Card (7 Days)

• 10-Ticket Public Transportation Card
• €91 per person

The extra 20% off promo code is valid for a variety of attractions and services, including the following examples:

• Airport Transfers
• Whirling Dervish Show
• Luxury Yacht Tour
• Princes’ Island Ferry

Purchase the Istanbul Welcome Card or learn more .

Although these passes are somewhat limited, they’re still a relatively good deal for travelers who are focused primarily on sightseeing.

If you want to visit attractions like LEGOLAND or Madame Tussauds, you’ll probably need to consider another pass.

That said, one of the nicest things about this pass is that it provides an extra 20% concession for additional activities, which essentially means that the amount you can save using the Istanbul Welcome Card is not limited to the services included. 

The Deluxe Card offers more value than the Premium Card, and we recommend it to those who want to get the best deal.

Even so, the Premium Card is still excellent for anyone who wants to go sightseeing in Istanbul at their own pace.

TriPass Basic

This prepackaged pass covers fewer noteworthy attractions than almost any other service in Istanbul. 

Even so, if you really want to take your time exploring the city, you might still want to consider the TriPass Basic, because it’s valid for 30 days.

The following activities and deals are included with this pass:

• Sabanci Museum
• 7.5% off at Boyner
• 10% off at Kiğılı

As you can see, this tourist pass is a bit anemic. 

Thankfully, it’s pretty well-priced at just €49.90 per person.

Purchase the TriPass Basic or learn more .

Although you can save some money with this pass, chances are you’ll save a lot more with one of the other services offered by TriPass (all-inclusive, build your own).

Using their build-your-own pass as an example, if you were to use it to get tickets for each of the activities included with their basic pass, you’d only pay €48.75.

It’s also worth noting that their free pass includes many of the deals that are offered with the TriPass Basic, and that pass has no expiration date.

In other words, you could technically pay less by using a combination of two other passes that are both offered by this same company.

Keep these details in mind as you make a decision about which tourist pass to purchase.

Unlike the TriPass Basic, this pass is actually valid for a total of 60 days, and it allows you to pick only the attractions you want to visit.

The deals offered by this service are much lower than their competitors, as they are capped at just 25% off at most.

Although you won’t save a lot of money with this type of pass, it does provide concessionary rates for a wide range of activities, including the following:

• Topkapi Palace Tour
• Istanbul Aquarium

One notable activity included with this pass that you won’t find anywhere else is a Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Tour.

You’ll have to pay almost €200 for this, but at least you won’t pay the full price!

There is no official price for this type of tourist pass because the final price depends on how many activities you choose and how much they cost with their respective concessions.

This is a pass that you might actually want to use in combination with others. 

If you’re interested in one of the other Istanbul tourist pass options, but it doesn’t include every activity you want to enjoy, this is a great way to save money on any additional activities of interest.

You’ll also pay less for this pass than some of the others on our list, and it’s nice to have total control over which attractions you will have an opportunity to visit.

The basic Istanbul museum pass includes admission to 13 museums for one low price.

As with most other passes in the city, this one also provides access to some of the most notable attractions.

This service is valid for 5 days, so you’ll want to visit at least 2-3 museums each day if you want to fit all of them into your trip.

Here’s the full list of museums you can visit with this service:

• Yıldız Palace
• Fethiye Museum
• Rumeli Fortress Museum
• Great Palace Mosaic Museum
• Galata Mevlevi Lodge Museum
• Hagia Irene Monument Museum
• Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
• Istanbul Archaeological Museums
• Istanbul Museum of the History of Science and Technology

As of 2024, the price for this pass is 3600 Turkish Lira (around €105 ).

Purchase the Istanbul Museum Pass or learn more .

In addition to the basic service, there is also an Istanbul Guided Museum Pass. This option is also valid for 5 days, and it includes guided tours of each museum included.

Here are the locations you’ll be able to visit with this version of the pass:

• Blue Mosque
• Grand Bazaar
• Dolmabahce Palace Museum
• Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts

Prices are €197 for adults and €187 for children.

Purchase the Istanbul Guided Museum Pass or learn more .

The Museum Pass is included with some of the all-inclusive and prepackaged passes, so you actually don’t have to purchase it separately if you’re already planning to purchase one of those services.

Even the Istanbul Guided Museum Pass is technically included with the Istanbul Tourist Pass, as they offer the exact same guided tours at the same locations.

While you could purchase this separately, we recommend considering one of the other passes that include the Museum Pass at no additional cost.

Free Istanbul Tourist Pass | TriPass Lite

Yes, technically there is a tourist pass in Istanbul that won’t cost you anything.

It doesn’t provide free admission to any attractions, but it does have a lot of deals at popular stores, restaurants, and other locations.

Here is a short list of the most impressive deals you can get for free with TriPass Lite:

• 10% off at Network
• 10% off at Derimod
• 10% off at Divarese
• 50% off Car Rentals
• 15% off Mobile Hotspot
• 20% off at English Home
• 20% off ARIS Diamond Jeweler

You’ll also be able to get concessionary rates at the following attractions:

• Pera Museum
• Rahmi M. Koç Museum

As you can see, this pass is pretty limited, but that’s to be expected with a service that is entirely free to use.

If you can’t afford any of the passes, this will at least give you an opportunity to save money on shopping, activities, and even a car rental.

Get the TriPass Lite .

Many of the deals included with this pass are also available on every TriPass at no extra cost, and you’ll also find similar deals offered by their competitors.

If you’re already planning to get another tourist pass, you probably won’t need this. Even so, it’s still going to be useful for a lot of people.

Two standout deals are the car rental and the mobile hotspot. If you’re planning to do any work while in Istanbul, it’s likely you’ll need a hotspot at some point, and this is a free deal to help you save money on the service.

Similarly, if you’re interested in a day trip from Istanbul, the car rental deal would certainly come in handy.

This deal isn’t offered by every competitor, so it’s nice to know you can get it for free!

Is an Istanbul Tourist Pass Worth It?

The answer to this question ultimately depends upon a variety of factors including how much time you have in Istanbul, how many activities you want to enjoy, and other details.

We'll be honest: a tourist pass is not going to be the best option for everyone. That said, there are plenty of travelers who would absolutely benefit from using one of these services.

Here are a few examples of visitors who will likely get the most out of a pass:

• Travelers w/ long stays
• Both couples and families
• Tourists who want to see 3-4 attractions per day
• Anyone who enjoys a lot of the included activities

One nice thing about these services is that most of them offer full refunds if you don't use them, and some even provide partial refunds if you aren't happy with your experience.

In addition to that, some passes also include tickets for public transportation, which makes it much easier to get around the city.

However, it should be noted that you might find yourself tied to the actitivies included with your pass as you attempt to get the best possible deal, which could make it more difficult to see other attractions and areas you might want to discover in Istanbul.

If you're looking to see some of the less touristy neighborhoods and landmarks in this city, a pass might not be the best way to do it, because most of the included services are not off the beaten path.

These are arguably among the most important factors to consider when deciding whether or not a tourist pass is worth the price.

We recommend planning out an itinerary for yourself ahead of time to see if you can fit enough activities into your vacation to save a lot of money. If so, give it a go!

Tips From Locals and Travelers

If you're still unsure about whether or not to purchase one of these tourist passes, perhaps the advice of locals and travelers who have used these services will give you a better idea of what to expect.

Istanbul Travel is one of the best Facebook groups for advice on this and other questions tourists may have.

Here are a few tips we've selected which are perhaps the most helpful of them all.

When asked whether or not the Istanbul e-Pass is worth the price, David made some very good points about the kind of calculation necessary when purchasing a pass.

While he indicates he was able to easily save money using just the Museum Pass, he also notes that these passes often "include" admission to attractions that are already free.

This is another factor that comes into play when deciding whether or not to get a pass, because depending on which attractions you want to visit, you might not even need one!

Here's a great comment from the Istanbul reddit page noting that the Hagia Sophia is now free to visit because it has been converted to a mosque.

Being that this is often one of the more popular attractions included with these passes, it's important to note that you don't even necessarily need tickets to enter.

We don't want to misrepresent reality, so it's important to point out that the experience noted above is actually quite common for tourists traveling to Istanbul.

In many cases, travelers find that they can save more money by simply paying for the individual tickets they want.

This commenter also notes that some attractions will take longer than others to experience, leaving little time for other things, and that can be a problem if you're trying to fit as many activities as possible into one day.

Although a lot of locals and travelers don't think these passes are worth it, there are some who still insist it's a good way to save money.

And to their credit, it is entirely possible to get a decent deal using these services. The only problem is the amount of research necessary to get the best possible deal.

With all that said, we do highly advise checking and even joining Istanbul Travel Tips groups on Facebook if you want more advice on this and other issues.

And much, much more

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Istanbul Tourist Pass®

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Istanbul: Tourist Pass with Over 100 Attractions & Services

Basilica Cistern(Istanbul): Skip the line Ticket with Guided Tour

Hagia Sophia Outside and Experience Museum

Topkapi Palace Skip-The-Line Entry with Guided Tour

Archaeological Museums of Istanbul: Skip-the-line Ticket with Guide Highlight

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Best City Pass for Istanbul | Compare Prices & Included Activities

A city pass, offering travelers all kinds of advantages, can be a great way to save money and make the most of your time in a new city. 

But with so many options out there, it can be hard to know which city pass for Istanbul is right for you. That's why we've put together this guide with a handy table to   compare the different types of Istanbul city pass . 

So read on to find out which city pass of Istanbul is best for you!

Istanbul City Pass Options: A Comparison Table

Find below an Istanbul City Pass Comparison Table:

Details of  Istanbul City Pass  Options

Let's take a detailed look at the most popular Istanbul city passes and what they include, so you can choose the right one for your upcoming Istanbul adventure:

1. Istanbul Welcome Card Premium €91

The Istanbul Welcome Card offers not one, but multiple city passes for travelers, which differ slightly in terms of the activities and services included. The Premium Card, valid for 7 days , costs €91   and is the most popular option for many travelers.

What does the Istanbul Welcome Card  Premium Card offer you?

• Public Transport Card Istanbulkart + credit for 10 rides with public transport
• Fast track entry ticket to the Topkapi Palace + 30-min. guided tour in English + audio guide app
• Fast track entry ticket to the Basilica Cistern + 30-min. guided tour in English
• 30-min. guided tour of Hagia Sophia with an English-speaking guide + audio guide app
• Bosphorus Cruise , with an Audio Guide in 9 languages included
• 2 Istanbul Walking Tours
• 20% discount at major Istanbul attractions on the IWC shop
• 1 digital guide book + tour suggestions + map
• Skip the line access to 2 top attractions, save up to 2 hours and enter these 2 attractions the fastest way 
• Enjoy guided highlight tours of 3 of Istanbul must-sees by an official licensed tour guide
• Get around Istanbul easily with an included preloaded Public Transport Card for Metro, Tram, Ferry, Funicular, Bus and Metrobus
• Explore Istanbul like a local with 2 included Walking Tours of Istanbul
• Benefit of free hotel delivery of your cards
• Includes a quintessential Istanbul experience : cruise on the Bosphorus
• Benefit of audio guide app and attractive discounts throughout the city
• Use your included digital Istanbul guide book with the must-do things, walking tours, useful information and city map to plan ahead and make the most of your trip
• 24/7 customer service in case you need anything
• Valid for 7 days

Where can I buy the Istanbul Welcome Card Premium?

You can buy Istanbul Welcome Card’s Premium Card save and with a 5% discount through this link: Istanbul Welcome Premium Card

2. Istanbul Welcome Card Deluxe €129

This is the Deluxe Version of Istanbul Welcome Card, which includes even more activities and service than the premium version. This card is valid for 5 days and costs €129 , allowing travelers to enjoy a worry-free complete package for their Istanbul adventure.

What does the Istanbul Welcome Card  Deluxe Card offer you?

• Public Transport Card Istanbulkart + credit for 20 rides with public transport
• 3 guided tours   by a historian guide (in English): Topkapi Palace and Harem + Hagia Sophia + Basilica Cistern
• Bosphorus Tour + audio guide app in 9 languages
• Fast track entry to the following top museums in Istanbul:
• Topkapi Palace + Harem
• Galata Tower
• Rumeli Fortress
• Galata Mevlevi House
• Great Palace Mosaic Museum
• Hagia Irene
• Istanbul Archaeological Museum
• Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
• Museum of Science and Technology in Islam
• Museum Pass with skip the line access to 9 major attractions in Istanbul, save up to 4 hours and enter these attractions the fastest way 
• Skip the line access to Basilica Cistern
• Includes a quintessential Istanbul experienc e: cruise on the Bosphorus
• Valid for 5 days

Where can I buy the Istanbul Welcome Card Deluxe?

The Deluxe Card of Istanbul Welcome Card can be purchased by using the following link: Istanbul Welcome Deluxe Card

3. Istanbul Welcome Card  Saver Combo €81

The Saver Combo is the budget option of the Istanbul Welcome Card. It is ideal for travelers visiting for a weekend and just want to see the highlights, while saving time and money. The Saver Combo is valid for 3 days and costs €81.

What does the Istanbul Welcome Card  Saver Combo offer you?

• Guided tour of the Hagia Sophia with an English-speaking historian guide + audio guide app
• Entrance ticket and guided tour (in English) of Topkapi Palace  + audio guide app
• Entrance ticket and guided tour (in English) of the Basilica Cistern
• Bosphorus Cruise with an audio guide app available in 9 languages
• Skip the ticket lines with an official tour guide at Topkapi Palace & Basilica Cistern
• Enjoy 30 min. highlights tours with a licensed local tour guide and get orientation tips
• Includes a quintessential Istanbul experience: cruise on the Bosphorus

Where can I buy the Saver Combo?

You can buy Istanbul Welcome Card’s Saver Combo Pass through this link: Saver Combo

4. Istanbul E-Pass from €120 to 195

The Istanbul E-Pass is another city pass for Istanbul that offers various options for tours and activities, both guided and self-guided. The cost of the card ranges for adults from €120 to 195 , depending on the number of days of validity chosen (between 2 and 7 days).

What does the Istanbul E-Pass offer you?

• Access to 50 Istanbul attractions, including Topkapi Palace & Galata Tower
• Guided tours with professional guides (e.g. Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque & Basilica Cistern)
• Day trips from Istanbul , like Bursa or Sapanca Lake
• Shows & experiences, such as Whirling Dervish Show & Bosphorus Cruise
• Free shuttle airport transfer (reservation required)
• Selected discounts throughout the city
• Istanbul digital guidebook in six languages
• WhatsApp Customer support 
• Enjoy free access to more than 55 attractions in Istanbul, some of which with skip-the-line entry
• Save up to 70% thanks to selected discounts at restaurants, airport transfers & more
• Make the most of your stay in Turkey and go on included day trips
• Enjoy extraordinary experiences and shows in Istanbul
• Get a deeper understanding of the city of Istanbul thanks to a number of guided tours
• Available in 4 validity options: 2, 3, 5 and 7 days

Where can I buy the Istanbul E-Pass?

You can securely purchase the Istanbul E-Pass through the following link: Istanbul E-Pass

5.  Istanbul Tourist Pass from €90 to €185

Another city pass for Istanbul that combines various possibilities of visits and excursions , with or without guide, is the Istanbul Tourist Pass. The pass comes with 7 differen t validity options and the regular price for adults range between €90 and €185.

What does the Istanbul Tourist Pass offer you?

• Access to more than 85 Istanbul attractions , incl. Galata Tower
• Guided tours with professional guides, incl. Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern
• Experiences & Shows, incl. Whirling Dervish Show, Zipline & Bosphorus Dinner Cruise
• Free audio guides for Taksim Square, Spice Bazaar, Suleymaniye Mosque, and more
• Day Trips from Istanbul 
• Free shuttle airport transfer
• Special discounts throughout the city
• Exclusive Travel Services & concierge services
• WhatsApp Traveler support 
• Enjoy free access to more than 85 attractions in Istanbul, some of which with skip the line entry
• Save up to 80% thanks to selected discounts, e.g. for a Public Transport Card, shows & more
• Gain a deeper understanding of Istanbul through a variety of guided tours offered
• Enjoy special experiences and shows in Istanbul
• Maximize your experience in Turkey by going on included day trips
• Available in 7 validity options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 days

Where can I buy the Istanbul Tourist Pass?

The Istanbul Tourist Pass can be easily bought through this link:   Istanbul Tourist Pass

6. Istanbul Museum Pass 2250 TL

The Istanbul Museum Pass is a pass developed by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism that allows visitors to gain entry to multiple museums in Istanbul. The pass is valid for 5 days and costs 2250 TL .

• Please Note:  The Istanbul Museum Pass is included in Istanbul Welcome Card’s Deluxe Card .

What does the Istanbul Museum Pass offer you?

Free Access to the following museums in Istanbul:

• Topkapi Palace Museum + Harem
• Hagia Irene Museum
• Galata Tower Museum
• Rumeli Fortress Museum 
• Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts
• Istanbul Archaeology Museums
• Great Palace Mosaics Museum
• Museum of History of Science and Technology in Islam
• Galata Mevlevi Lodge Museum
• Benefit from a cost-effective way to visit several museums without having to purchase individual tickets for each one, saving time & money

Where can I buy the Istanbul Museum Pass?

The Istanbul Museum Pass can be purchased securely using the following link: Istanbul Museum Pass

7. Istanbulkart (former Akbil)

The Istanbulkart (formerly called Akbil ) is actually not a city pass, but the public transportation card for Istanbul. Keep in mind that the card is included in Istanbul Welcome Card’s Deluxe and Premium Cards.

• You can use the Istanbulkart in every public transportation vehicle (except dolmus ): metro, bus, tram, nostalgic tram, tunnel, Metrobus, funicular, cable car, and ferry.

Where can I buy the Istanbulkart?

The Istanbulkart (formerly known as Akbil) can be bought at the vending machines placed at the metro, tram, ferry and metrobus stations all over the city. It is also sold at many kiosks close to these stations .

As mentioned before, the card is also included in Istanbul Welcome Card’s Deluxe and Premium Cards.

Conclusion: Which City Pass for Istanbul is best for you? 

Choosing the best city pass for Istanbul will depend on your individual needs and preferences, the number of days you will be in Istanbul, the type of activities you're interested in, and your budget.

• If you want to have a carefree vacation in Istanbul, the Istanbul Welcome Card’s Deluxe Card may be the best option for you. This worry-free all-inclusive package offers a hassle-free trip with its fast-track entry, guided tours to Istanbul's top attractions, a scenic Bosphorus Cruise, engaging walking tours, the Istanbul Museum Pass, and a preloaded public transport card for Istanbul ( Istanbulkart ).
• If you are short on time or looking to see only the highlights of Istanbul, then the Saver Combo is the perfect choice, especially if you are in Istanbul for 3 days. However, if you plan to stay longer, the Istanbul Welcome Card's Premium Card , valid for 7 days, might be a better option.
• If you want to see as many attractions as possible, the Istanbul Welcome Card’s Deluxe Card , Istanbul Tourist Pass or Istanbul E-Pass are all great choices to consider.
• If you want to save a lot of money, then the Saver Combo is the most cost-effective choice that allows you to see the top highlights of Istanbul at a discounted price.
• If you plan to use public transport while in Istanbul,  we recommend considering either the Istanbul Welcome Card's Deluxe or Premium Card . Both options include a preloaded Istanbulkart , which allows you to use all forms of public transportation in Istanbul (except for  dolmus ). If you only plan to use public transport and do not wish to visit any sights, purchasing the Istanbulkart directly would be a more suitable option.

Istanbul Pass FAQ   (Frequently Asked Questions)

Is there a discounted City pass for ISTANBUL for children and youth?

Children under 5 years of age do not typically require a pass, as they are admitted for free to most attractions. Both the Istanbul E-Pass and the Istanbul Tourist Pass offer discounts for children aged 5-12.

How do I receive my Istanbul City pass?

The Istanbul Welcome Card offers free hotel delivery for all of its card options. Additionally, they will send you a digital guidebook and vouchers to the email address provided at the time of purchase.

The Istanbul E-Pass will send their city pass to the email address you provide after purchase. The email will include the QR code of the pass, access links, a metro map, and the guidebook.

The Istanbul Tourist Pass can be accessed through their mobile app after logging in to your account. A confirmation email will be sent to you after purchase, which includes the pass ID and a link to manage reservations.

Are the passes cheaper on site in Istanbul?

No, the city passes for Istanbul are not cheaper on site.  In fact, with our links above, you can benefit from a 5% discount on some passes.

Can I visit an Istanbul attraction multiple times with my City pass For Istanbul?

No, each attraction can be only visited once.

Is Topkapi Palace included in a City pass For Istanbul?

Entrance to Topkapi Palace is included in all the Istanbul Welcome Card options mentioned above, as well as the Istanbul Museum Pass and Istanbul E-Pass. The Istanbul Welcome Card also offers a guided tour of the palace in English.

The Istanbul Tourist Pass only includes a guided visit of Topkapi Palace.

Where can I buy a CITY PASS For ISTANBUL?

You can securely purchase the various Istanbul city pass options at the links provided above. Some of these options may come with a 5% discount.

Now you are ready to choose the best city pass for Istanbul for your trip to Istanbul. Take a look at our other articles about the city to plan your vacation. 

These include recommendations for  hotels, tips on how to Plan your trip to Istanbul , and a comprehensive review of Transfer Options in Istanbul .

Also be sure to check out our article on the Best Turkish SIM Card for tourists  to stay connected during your travels. 

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Turkey Museum Pass: Full Museum List and Where to Buy in 2024

Looking for the turkey museum pass list & how the pass works.

If you’re planning on visiting museums and archeological sites on your trip to Turkey , you’ll want to check out the Turkey Museum Pass.  It is a multiple-entry pass for tourists to museums run by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. You’ll have options to purchase a pass for all of Turkey, Istanbul, Cappadocia, the Mediterranean regions, and the Aegean region.

Use Our Helpful Guide to Learn:

• Full list of museums
• How the pass works
• Cost of the Turkey Museum Pass
• Where to buy the pass
• Download the Museums of Turkey App

Next, let’s look at what the pass is and how it works.

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What is the Turkey Museum Pass?

Purchasing the Museum Pass in Turkey will get you access to over 300 museums and archeological sites run by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism all over the country within a 15-day period. Your 15 days start the first time you use your pass for entry into the museum.

It is a great way to save money on museum entry fees if you plan on visiting multiple museums during your trip.  Also, not every museum is run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, so be sure to check the website or Museums of Turkey app for the most current lists. The pass does not include national parks in Turkey, such as Noah’s Ark National Park.

There are several regional cards available if you don’t want to buy the pass for all of Turkey.

See more of our favorite apps for travel in Turkey .

Where to Buy the Turkey Museum Pass

The best option is to purchase the Museum Pass for a specific region or all of Turkey for your trip at the first museum that you visit. Wait until you arrive and purchase it at the first site you go to. You can purchase a pass for all of Turkey or you can buy a regional pass for the area you are in. You’ll be given a physical card that you’ll scan at each site you enter.

✅ Click Here for the List of Locations You Can Buy the Museum Pass

Turkey museum pass cost.

Due to inflation the cost of the Turkey Museum pass has changed numerous times within one travel season. I suggest checking in at the Museum Pass website for the latest pricing before your trip. The cost is worth it if you plan on visiting many of the museums throughout Turkey. Also, a regional pass is a good option specifically for you if you are traveling to Cappadocia, the Mediterranean or Aegean regions.

✅ Click Here for Turkey & Regional Museum Pass Pricing

**Note: The purchase and delivery of the museum pass to your hotel for cash payment has been suspended as of March 24, 2022. We recommend purchasing your pass on-site.

Next, we’ll look at the different regional cards, the cost, and the list of sites each region includes.

Museums of Turkey App

We highly recommend downloading the Museums of Turkey app as it is one of our favorite Turkey travel apps. The app will show you sites that are close to your location, and give you an overview of the site history, the open hours, and the cost to get in. This is my favorite feature of the Museum app. The Museums of Turkey app is a gold mine of information for your travels in Turkey.

Regional Museum Passes

Istanbul Museum Pass

You can use the Istanbul Museum Pass in 13 museums and archaeological sites over 5 days in Istanbul. Your 5 days start the first time you use the pass for entry. The most popular sites included in the Museum Pass Istanbul are:

• Istanbul Archaeological Museums
• Topkapi Palace Museum & Harem
• Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts
• Galata Tower Museum & Mevlevi House
• Rumeli Fortress Museum

Sites not included in the pass are the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Basilica Cistern.

✅ Click Here for Full List: Istanbul Museum Pass

Cappadocia Museum Pass

By purchasing the Cappadocia Museum Pass, you can enter 13 museums run by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism over 3 days. The top Cappadocia museums included with the card are:

• Goreme Open Air Museum
• Zelve Open Air Museum
• Derinkuyu Underground City
• Kaymakli Underground City
• Ihlara Valley

✅ Click Here for Full List: Cappadocia Museum Pass

Mediterranean Museum Pass

By purchasing the Mediterranean Museum Pass you have access to over 40 museums and archaeological sites in a 7-day period in the Mediterranean region run by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The most popular sites in the Mediterranean region are:

• Antalya Museum
• Myra / St. Nicholas Church
• Pamukkale/Hieropolis

✅ Click Here for Full List: Mediterranean Museum Pass

Aegean Museum Pass

With the Aegean Museum pass, you can visit over 40 museums and archaeological sites in the Aegean region over a 7-day period. There are so many sites that you can pull off the road and go explore in the Aegean. The most popular Aegean sites you can see with the Aegean Museum Pass are:

• Ephesus Terrace Houses
• Ephesus Museum
• Hieropolis / Pamukkale
• Bergama Acropolis
• Fethiye Rock Tombs
• Museum of Underwater Archaeology

✅ Click Here for Full List: Aegean Museum Pass

Save money with the museum pass.

Depending on the regions in Turkey you are traveling to and the number of sites you want to visit, the Museum Pass can save you money. For the larger sites, you typically pay 100tl per adult for entrance fees into the museums and archaeological sites.  If you have many of the sites on your Turkey itinerary, this can help reduce the cost of your entrance fees. Also, at most of the larger sites, if you show your Museum Pass, you can get discounts on merchandise and any additional activities at the site.

For kids , there are discounted entrance rates for kids 7 – 12 years old when you go to a museum in Turkey. Ultimately, a pass may not be necessary for children traveling with you on your trip because their entrance fees are already reduced. At most sites, kids 6 and under are free.

Museum Pass vs. Muze Kart

Both cards serve the same purpose in gaining access to museums and archaeological sites in Turkey, but they are for different people. The Museum Pass is for foreigners and tourists visiting Turkey . It is only good for a period of days depending on which card you buy. If you are a Turkish citizen or resident, you’ll qualify for the Muze Kart which has a discounted rate and is good for an entire year for all sites in Turkey. You will need to show your ikamet to get the Muze Kart.

Museum Pass FAQs

If you’re planning a trip to Turkey and want to visit museums during your trip, the Museum Pass may be a great option for you. Below are our most frequently asked questions about the Turkey Museum Pass.

What are the top Museums in Turkey?

According to the Museums of Turkey app, the top 10 museums in Turkey are:

• Hierapolis / Pamukkale
• Gobeklitepe

For more bucket list experiences in Turkey, see our guide.

What is the cost of the Turkey Museum Pass?

The price for the Museum Pass Turkiye is 1000tl for a 15-day period for any museum in Turkey run by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The 15 days start the first time you use the card to enter the site. Most of the large sites charge a 100tl entrance fee, and smaller sites can range from 30tl – 60tl entrance fee.

*Please check the Museum Pass website for pricing, as it has fluctuated due to inflation in Turkey.

Can I get a museum pass for Istanbul, Turkey only?

Yes, you can buy the Istanbul Museum Pass to access 13 museums in Istanbul over a 5-day period. If you’re only visiting Istanbul , this a great option for a multi-entry pass to museums and archaeological sites. Your 5 days start the first time you use the pass to enter a site.

Can I buy the Turkey Museum Pass through the app?

No, you cannot buy the Museum Pass through the app as of March 2022. You will need to buy the pass on-site at the entrance of the first museum you visit. You will get a physical card to carry with you for the duration of your trip. To enter a site, you’ll scan your card to enter the museum.

If I have the Museum Pass, can I skip the line to enter?

If you have the pass, you will not have to stand in line to purchase tickets for entrance. You will have to stand in line to enter IF there is a line. With a pass, you’re given a card that allows you to electronically scan your pass at the entrance of each site bypassing the ticket line.

Conclusion: Turkey Museum Pass

If you’re planning a trip to Turkey, the Turkey Museum Pass or one of the regional passes may be a great option to help you save time and money. With access to over

Dania Demirci is your go-to travel expert for exploring Turkey and co-founder of Adventurefolio.com. With her extensive knowledge and personal experiences, Dania helps fellow travelers create the ultimate Turkish itineraries. From hidden gems to must-visit spots, she shares practical tips to empower you to confidently explore Turkey.

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Home > 5 Turkey Museum Pass Options: Priced For The Museum Pass In Turkey Updated 2024

5 Turkey Museum Pass Options: Priced For The Museum Pass In Turkey Updated 2024

Written by our local expert SJ

Sarah-Jane has lived in Croatia for 10+ years. SJ, as she is known, has been traveling the Balkans & beyond since 2000. She now shares her passion for traveling with her husband & kids.

Are you planning to buy the 15-day Turkey Museum Pass or perhaps one of the other regional Turkey Museum passes? Here is what you need to know. 

A historically rich country, Turkey is full of museums, cultural spots, and ancient sites. Any trip to Türkiye would be incomplete without a visit to at least some of the more popular museums in Turkey.

Before my last trip in February 2023, I did not know that there was a national museum pass and smaller regional museum passes. 

Oh man, I spent far too much money not buying this!!

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism created a multiple-entry pass for foreign tourists, allowing you to purchase passes for all of Turkey, Istanbul, Cappadocia, the Mediterranean, and the Aegean regions. The passes consolidate museum entrances, saving you time and hassle throughout your trip, and of course, you’ll save lots of money on entrance fees.

My last trip to Türkiye was just one week after the devastating earthquakes – and I was happy to spend money there – to help the economy and the grief-stricken people of Türkiye. But dang, it, I could have spent the Turkish Lira I would have saved on the museum entry tickets on more shopping and eating!

Depending on your interests, holiday location, and budget, there is a Turkish museum pass for everyone. So, if you are considering purchasing a Museum Pass in Turkey, here are the fundamental things to know before you buy one.

Note:  Most mosques, such as the Blue Mosque, have no “fee”; you do, however, have to line up and go between prayer times as they are working mosques. You also still have to wait in the security-check lines when required.

Also, some of the top attractions, such as Istanbul’s Basilica Dolmabahce Palace, are not included in these passes and cost extra.

As of January 15th, 2024, Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque has introduced a distinct policy for tourists and worshippers. If you’re visiting for cultural exploration, there’s now a 25 euro entry fee . This ticket grants you access to the gallery floor, where you can admire the sanctuary’s stunning Ottoman and Byzantine features, including the historic mosaics.

Skip Ahead To My Advice Here!

1. The Turkey Museum Pass 15 Days

The most comprehensive pass, the Turkey Museum Pass, covers three hundred different museums and archaeological sites that belong to the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Directorate of National Palaces; for a full list of museums, check here.

The pass currently costs 165 euros (March 2023) and is available for purchase at designated ticket booths at each cultural site. Once you pass your first museum entrance, the pass is then valid for fifteen days, meaning you have plenty of time to explore.

Until 2022, it was possible to purchase the pass online with a free courier service delivering the pass to you. Since March 2022, this service has been suspended, so passes must be purchased in person.

2. The 5-Day Museum Pass Istanbul

A more limited version of the Museum Pass Türkiye, the Istanbul Museum Pass is perfect for travelers intent on visiting the city only.

The pass can be purchased as an e-ticket or at designated ticket booths located at the first seven locations on the list below. Currently, the phass costs 105 euros (March 2023) and allows you access to these main attractions for five days (or 120 hours) from its first use.

The Museum Pass In Istanbul Includes Thirteen Historical Sites In Istanbul, Including:

• Istanbul Archaeology Museums
• Great Palace Mosaic Museum of Constantinople
• Galata Tower
• Rumeli Fortress Museum
• Museum Of Turkish And Islamic Arts
• Topkapı Palace
• Hagia Irene Museum
• Galata Mevlevi LodgeHouse
• Adam Mickiewicz Museum Istanbul
• Istanbul Museum of the History of Science and Technology in Islam
• Turbes Museum

We saw many of these and spent a lot of money, so I can tell you firsthand that the Museum Card in Istanbul is very good value for money. 

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3. the 3-day cappadocia museum pass.

For visitors to the Cappadocia region, the Museum Pass Cappadocia provides one-time access to thirteen historical museums in the area for a price of 65 euros Turkish Lira (March 2024) for three days.

Helpfully, the pass can be purchased online and downloaded to your mobile phone, meaning you can buy ahead of time and plan your trip accordingly. However, you can also purchase the card at ticket booths at one of the below locations.

The Museum Pass Cappadocia Includes The Following Sites

• Derinkuyu Underground City
• Kaymakli Underground City
• Ihlara Valley
• Aksaray Monastery Valley
• Aksaray Museum
• Göreme Open Air Museum
• Dark Church Türkiye (Goreme)
• Ozkonak Underground City
• Nevsehir Museum
• Nevsehir Archaeological Site & Cavusin Church
• Haci Bektas Veli Museum (Nevsehir)
• Zelve Open Air Museum (Nevsehir)
• Church of St. Jean, Gulsehir (Nevsehir)

4. The 7-Day Museum Pass Aegean Region

Over seven days, the Aegean Museum Pass provides visitors access to 40 museums and sites in Turkey’s Aegean Region. The pass can be purchased online for 95 euros (March 2024) and downloaded to your mobile phone.

The Pass Is An Excellent Purchase For Visitors To The Provinces Of İzmir

This pass gives you access to over 40 museums and archaeological sites that belong to the Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Izmir, Aydin, Mugla, and Denizli, as it covers single entry to historical sites, including:

• Ephesus (including the Terrace Houses and Museum)
• Ancient Hieropolis/Pamukkale
• Bergama Acropolis
• Fethiye Rock Tombs
• Museum of Underwater Archaeology

5. The 7-Day Mediterranean Region Museum Pass

The pass is an ideal purchase for visitors to the regions of Antalya, Mersin, Adana, and Denizli as it covers single-entry essential sites, such as:

• Antalya Museum
• Myra/St. Nicholas Church
• Ancient Hieropolis-Pamukkale
• Explore The 7 Regions Of Turkey

Tourist Museums Of Turkey App

The Museums of Turkey app is a free app for Apple and Android users that provides users with information on over 200 different museums in Turkey. The app includes museum descriptions, photos, opening hours, and contact information. Users can also search for specific museums by name or location.

The app is available in both English and Turkish, making it accessible to a wide range of users. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate. So whether you’re looking for a specific museum or want to browse what’s available, the Museums of Turkey app is a great resource.

Museum Pass Frequently Asked Questions

Can i buy the muzekart.

Yes, but this is just for Turkish Citizens, and you need to show a Government ID to purchase it.

How much are kids’ passes?

There is currently no kid’s rate pass. However, it is unnecessary to purchase a pass for kids.

Children under six years old benefit from free museum entry to all museums and sites in Türkiye . Additionally, children between the ages of 7 and 12 benefit from substantially reduced rates. My son was five on our visit, and I would love another trip while he remains six to get free entrance, as it saves you so much!!

Is there a student or senior rate pass?

There is currently no student or senior rate pass.

Do the passes allow you to skip queues?

Museum passes allow you to skip the long queues to enter sites and museums. However, visitors are not exempt from those long lines at security.

What are the Turkey Museum Pass card prices as of November 2023

These prices have skyrocketed since my visit in February 2023, and I took them from the official website in March 2024.

• Turkey Museum Pass 15 Days: 165 euros (March 2023)
• 5-Day Museum Pass Istanbul: 105 euros (March 2023)
•  3-Day Cappadocia Museum Pass: 65 euros (March 2024)
• 7-Day Museum Pass Aegean Region: 95 euros (March 2024)
• 7-Day Mediterranean Region Museum Pass: 90 euros (March 2024)

How many days can you use the museum passes in Turkey?

• Museum Pass Turkey: 15 days
• Museum Pass The Mediterranean: 7 days
• Museum Pass The Aegean: 7 days
• Museum Pass Istanbul: 5 days
• Museum Pass Cappadocia: 3 days

Are there free museums in Istanbul?

Yes, a few, including,.

• Istanbul Modern Art Museum
• Turkey Is Bank Museum
• Sirkeci Orient Express Museum
• Galatasaray Museum
• Private Sakip Sabancı Fine Arts Museum
• Private Pera Museum

What important museums are not covered by the passes?

The passes only include museums and sites that belong to the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Directorate of National Palaces and include many important museums.

However, the pass does not include major sites such as Istanbul’s Basilica Cistern, Dolmabahçe Palace, and Beylerbeyi Palace.

What are the best museums in Turkey?

Ohh there are far too many to list, but the ones we have seen and loved so much we wrote guides about them are:

• Topkapi Palace Museum
• Zelve Open Air Museum
• The Do’s And Don’ts Of Visiting Turkey
• Best Places To Visit In Turkey For Every Type Of Traveler
• How To Get From Istanbul To Cappadocia
• Best Nightlife In Istanbul
• Day Trips To Take From Istanbul
• Greek Island Day Trip From Southern Turkey
• Best Beaches To Visit In Turkey
• Ephesus, UNESCO World Heritage Site
• How To Get From Pamukkale To Cappadocia
• How To Choose Between Antalya Or Bodrum
• Why Winter In Turkey Is A Good Idea
• Best Cities To Visit In Turkey – Urban Travel Guide
• Turkey’s Hidden Gem – Alacati Travel Guide

Comments (10)

Based on the Turkey Museum Pass Card prices as of February 2023, may I know where do you get the figures from and where did you purchase it from? From my research, the price for Istanbul pass is 2250TL & Turkey pass is 3500TL which I found from the official website.

Those were the prices on my last trip in February. But sadly the Lira is in decline so prices have changes 100’s of time in the last 18 months.

I am planning to buy the Turkiye Museum Pass and Ephesus would be the first place to visit. Can I buy it there? Or should I buy it in Istanbul?

You can buy it any place that is convenient for you. It’s all the same.

Hi! Nice post! We are visiting Turkey next week and would like to get the Museums Pass the Aegean. I’ve already looked at the app, but I can’t change the language (only Turkish) and the app seems to be only for locals (ID required for registration). Is there another app for tourists? Can you provide a link to the app? Thank you!

It is 100% in English, as I used it – and double checked just now nothing had changed. I’ve added the links to the app in the post to be more helpful.

Thank you for the links! It seems like only the iOS app is in English. On my husband’s iPhone the app is in English, on my Android it’s only in Turkish, at least I haven’t found how to change the language. But we’ll just use the app on the iPhone now…

I’ve been reading A LOT about Turkey. We arrive there this Monday. I see the Turkey Museum pass now is 165 euros, that is a huge change in price. Did you know if the Turkey museum pass (15 days one) include Topkapi Palace?

Yes, everything on Türkiye has increased so much. But good news, Topkap is inc in the passes – and is a great place to go enjoy.

Thank you so much for your help, is a good article.

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Museum Pass in Turkey

Last Updated on August 22, 2023

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism administers many of Turkey's top museums and archeological sites. This trove of artistic, historical, archeological, and cultural treasures is a prime reason to visit Turkey, so you'll want to visit at least a few museums and sites.

The Ministry issues multi-admission passes for the museums and sites in its care. Müzekart is only sold to Turkish citizens and foreign residents with valid ID, but Museum Passes are available to foreign tourists.

Museum Pass Basics and Tips

How to save your time when visiting museums in turkey.

There's no doubt a Museum Pass is convenient: you avoid waiting in the ticket purchase line at each museum. However, it does not exempt you from the security-check line, so at some places, you will still have to spend time waiting in line, meaning that the time it takes you to visit a museum is more than just the time you enjoy inside the museum. Take this into account when you plan your daily itineraries.

You can also use the Museums of Turkey App on Android and Apple to check information about a museum before you visit. You can find information such as service hours, price of the tickets, museums close to your location, etc.

How to Save Money When Visiting Museums in Turkey?

A Museum Pass may save you money if you visit multiple museums and sites within the limited period of validity, which is measured in hours, not calendar days.

The greatest savings come when you plan your daily itineraries carefully. For example, if, with the 5-day Museum Pass Istanbul , you enter your first museum or site— and thus start the period of validity—first thing in the morning on Day 1, validity will end early in the morning on Day 6.

But if you start validity mid-day on Day 1, you will have until mid-day on Day 6 to enter museums. So you may want to visit a distant museum first, using the morning of Day 1 to travel there before you start the period of validity by entering the museum. Then on Day 6, you can visit museums close to your hotel, where you can enter as soon as they open.

For current pricing info for all museum passes, visit the official Museum Pass website . The Istanbul Museum Pass cost and other Museum Pass costs fluctuate frequently due to foreign currency exchange rates so it is advisable to check the official source for updated pricing info.

If you are a foreign resident holding an official residency such as a work permit, it’s highly recommended to apply for a Müzekart as it is much cheaper, valid for one year, and allows you access to a large number of sites across all of Turkey.

Museum Pass: Turkey

The Museum Pass Turkey gives you admission to 300+ museums operated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It's valid for 15 days. If you enjoy museums and archeological sites, this is a bargain, but remember: not all museums are operated by the Ministry. Museums outside the Ministry's control may not be included in the pass, though some offer discounts to Museum Pass holders during the period of validity.

Museum Pass: Istanbul

The 5-day Istanbul pass is valid for one entrance to any or all of the following museums within 120 hours after the first use of the pass. The Istanbul Museum Pass is valid at the following locations:

• Topkapı Palace and other palaces in Istanbul (including Hagia Irene Church and Harem)
• Istanbul Archeological Museums
• Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts
• Museum for the History of Islamic Science & Technology in Gülhane Parkı
• Istanbul Great Palace Mosaic Museum (As of July 2023, closed for renovations)
• Chora Church Museum (Byzantine Mosaics) (As of July 2023, closed for renovations)
• Yıldız Palace Museum (As of July 2023, closed for renovations)
• Galata Mevlevihanesi (Whirling Dervish Hall) (As of July 2023, closed for renovations)
• Galata Tower Museum
• Istanbul Rumeli Hisarı Fortress Museum
• Adam Mickiewicz Museum
• Istanbul Airport Museum
• Maiden's Tower
• Istanbul Fethiye Museum (Pammakaristos Church) (As of July 2023, closed for renovations)

In addition, several important Istanbul museums offer 20% to 30% admission-fee discounts to Museum Pass holders, as do numerous shops, transport companies, hammams, and even Efendi Travel Agency .

Museum Pass: Cappadocia

This 3-day (72-hour), Museum Pass Cappadocia pass gives you entry to the following museums and archaeological sites:

• Ihlara Valley
• Derinkuyu Underground City
• Göreme Open Air Museum
• Göreme Valley's Dark Church (Karanlık Kilise)
• Kaymaklı Underground City
• Özkonak Underground City
• Nevşehir Museum
• Çavuşin Open Air Museum
• Hacıbektaş Museum
• Zelve and Paşabağlar Open Air Museums
• Aksaray Monastery Valley
• Aksaray Museum
• Gülşehir ST. Jean Church

Museum Pass: The Aegean

The 7-day, Museum Pass The Aegean allows you entrance to all Ministry museums and archeological sites in the provinces of İzmir , Aydın , Denizli , and Muğla , which cover Aphrodisias , Bodrum , Çeşme , Didyma , Ephesus , the city of İzmir , Marmaris , Miletus , Priene , Sardis , and others. The Aegean Museum Pass is a great option if you plan to explore the cities and sites in the region.

Museum Pass: The Mediterranean

The 7-day, Museum Pass The Mediterranean gives you entrance to all Ministry museums and sites in the provinces of Adana , Antalya , Denizli , and Mersin —virtually the entire Mediterranean coast and hinterland from Kalkan and Kaş in the west to beyond Gazipaşa in the east, including Alanya , Antalya , Aspendos , Çıralı ( Olimpos & Chimaera ), Demre/Myra , Finike, Kaş , Manavgat , Side , Termessos , Tlos, Üçağız (Teimiussa) and many others.

Note: The Mediterranean Museum Pass is invalid at Denizli Hierapolis Ancient Pool. So, you must purchase a separate ticket.

Where to Buy Museum Passes

Museum Passes are sold at the museums and archeological sites for which they are valid; from Mobile Sales Points (vans) roaming major tourist areas; at selected hotels ( here are some in Istanbul ); online from muze.gov.tr , and from Efendi Travel (10% discount).

Turkey has a long and rich history that's a must to experience for visitors. There are over 300+ museums in Turkey, and you can access most with Museum Passes for a fraction of the original cost.

There are several Museum Passes for almost every region and Turkey, and it is advisable to research which Museum Pass will work for your needs whether you are visiting Istanbul for a day or exploring all of Turkey.

Regardless of your choice, you will enjoy Turkey's many historical sites and rich history during your travels.

—by Tom Brosnahan , updated by Can Turan

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LIST OF MUSEUM PASSES OFFERED

Müzekart+ (Only For Turkish Citizens)

Buy Online With Credit Card

MUSEUM PASS TÜRKİYE

Museum Pass Türkiye (15 Day)

MUSEUM PASS İSTANBUL

Museum Pass İstanbul (5 Day: 120 Hour)

Order Online With Cash On Delivery

MUSEUM PASS CAPPADOCIA

Museum Pass Cappadocia (Mobile)

MUSEUM PASS MEDITERRANEAN

Museum Pass The Mediterranean (Mobile)

MUSEUM PASS AEGEAN

Museum Pass The Aegean (Mobile)

ABOUT MUSEUM PASSES OF TÜRKİYE

Museum pass cards as presented above currently offered to dear visitors of Türkiye with the exception of Müzekart+ which valid only for Turkish citizens.

Museum Pass cards of Türkiye range with their regional area, price and the period of validity. Card owners are granted to skip the long queues to enter these sites and museums, though you are not exempt from security-check lines.

Each Museum Pass cards period of validity will be activated with your first entrance to a museum or historical site. Museum passes can only be used once at each museum.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Museum passes are simply discounted ticket packages and can not be used as a transportation card or phone card, etc. Guests of our city who would like to visit each individual museum can buy tickets from ticket booths which localized in museum premises and dooryards with credit card, cash (Turkish Lira) payments or online as an E-ticket . Tickets are sold only on the premises of museums and online. In case you buy faulty, counterfeit or second hand tickets and passes from street dealers, food kiosks, newspaper desks, etc. our institutions can not be held responsible.

MUSEUM PASS OF İSTANBUL

• The İstanbul Museum Pass allows free, one time access to over 10 museums in İstanbul.
• One can choose to explore the list of available museums during 5 day validity of the card.
• The İstanbul Museum Pass is valid for 1 year from the date of purchase. However, once activated on first usage it will remain active for consecutive 5 days for İstanbul Museums.
• Museum passes is valid from the time it is activated at the first museum entrance for consecutive 5 days. You can visit the attractions of your choice anytime within 5 days of validity.
• While the İstanbul Pass ensures general admission, it does not cover admission to special events, audioguides, or private exhibitions taking place at a selected museum.
• Famous attractions that come under the İstanbul Museum Pass are the Topkapi Palace , İstanbul Archeology Museums , and Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum . Please note, Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya Camii) reinstated to its former status as the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. You can review new foreign visitors rules, ticket price etc. from Hagia Sophia webpage for more information.
• İstanbul Museum Passes can not be exchanged or replaced if lost or stolen.
• Remember some of İstanbul's private museums, attractions, museum shops & cafes, hamams offer 20% to 30% discounts to İstanbul museum pass card holders.

“Holy İstanbul! Your name is the most enchanting one of all names which enchants me.” Pierre Loti, (1850 – 1923)

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The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness

Can cities make it illegal to live on the streets.

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Katrin Bennhold. This is “The Daily.”

This morning, we’re taking a much closer look at homelessness in the United States as it reaches a level not seen in the modern era. California —

As the number of homeless people has surged in the US —

More than 653,000, a 12 percent population increase since last year.

The debate over homeless encampments across the country has intensified.

It is not humane to let people live on our streets in tents, use drugs. We are not standing for it anymore.

People have had it. They’re fed up. I’m fed up. People want to see these tents and encampments removed in a compassionate, thoughtful way. And we agree.

With public officials saying they need more tools to address the crisis.

We move from block to block. And every block they say, can’t be here, can’t be here, can’t be here. I don’t know where we’re supposed to go, you know?

And homeless people and their advocates saying those tools are intended to unfairly punish them.

They come and they sweep and they take everything from me, and I can’t get out of the hole I’m in because they keep putting me back in square one.

That debate is now reaching the Supreme Court, which is about to hear arguments in the most significant case on homelessness in decades, about whether cities can make it illegal to be homeless. My colleague Abbie VanSickle on the backstory of that case and its far-reaching implications for cities across the US.

[THEME MUSIC]

It’s Friday, April 19.

So Abbie, you’ve been reporting on this case that has been making waves, Grants Pass versus Johnson, which the Supreme Court is taking up next week. What’s this case about?

So this case is about a small town in Oregon where three homeless people sued the city after they received tickets for sleeping and camping outside. And this case is the latest case that shows this growing tension, especially in states in the West, between people who are homeless and cities who are trying to figure out what to do about this. These cities have seen a sharp increase in homeless encampments in public spaces, especially with people on sidewalks and in parks. And they’ve raised questions about public drug use and other safety issues in these spaces.

And so the question before the justices is really how far a city can go to police homelessness. Can city officials and police use local laws to ban people from laying down outside and sleeping in a public space? Can a city essentially make it illegal to be homeless?

So three homeless people sued the city of Grants Pass, saying it’s not illegal to be homeless, and therefore it’s not illegal to sleep in a public space.

Yes, that’s right. And they weren’t the first people to make this argument. The issue actually started years ago with a case about 500 miles to the East, in Boise, Idaho. And in that case, which is called Martin v. Boise, this man, Robert Martin, who is homeless in Boise, he was charged with a misdemeanor for sleeping in some bushes. And the city of Boise had laws on the books to prohibit public camping.

And Robert Martin and a group of other people who are homeless in the city, they sued the city. And they claimed that the city’s laws violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

And what makes it cruel and unusual?

So their argument was that the city did not have enough sufficient shelter beds for everyone who was homeless in the city. And so they were forced to sleep outside. They said, we have no place to go and that an essential human need is to sleep and we want to be able to lay down on the sidewalk or in an alley or someplace to rest and that their local laws were a violation of Robert Martin and the others’ constitutional rights, that the city is violating the Eighth Amendment by criminalizing the human need to sleep.

And the courts who heard the case agreed with that argument. The courts ruled that the city had violated the Constitution and that the city could not punish people for being involuntarily homeless. And what that meant, the court laid out, is that someone is involuntarily homeless if a city does not have enough adequate shelter beds for the number of people who are homeless in the city.

It does seem like a very important distinction. They’re saying, basically, if you have nowhere else to go, you can’t be punished for sleeping on the street.

Right. That’s what the court was saying in the Martin v. Boise case. And the city of Boise then appealed the case. They asked the Supreme Court to step in and take it on. But the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. So since then, the Martin v. Boise case controls all over the Western parts of the US in what’s called the Ninth Circuit, which includes Oregon where the Grants Pass case originated.

OK. So tell us about Grants Pass, this city at the center of the case and now in front of the Supreme Court. What’s the story there?

Grants Pass is a town in rural Southwestern Oregon. It’s a town of about 38,000 people. It’s a former timber town that now really relies a lot on tourists to go rafting through the river and go wine tasting in the countryside. And it’s a pretty conservative town.

When I did interviews, people talked about having a very strong libertarian streak. And when I talked with people in the town, people said when they were growing up there, it was very rare to see someone who was homeless. It just was not an issue that was talked a lot about in the community. But it did become a big issue about 10 years ago.

People in the community started to get worried about what they saw as an increase in the number of homeless people that they were noticing around town. And it’s unclear whether the problem was growing or whether local officials and residents were worried that it might, whether they were fearing that it might.

But in any case, in 2013, the city council decided to start stepping up enforcement of local ordinances that did things like outlaw camping in public parks or sleeping outside, this series of overlapping local laws that would make it impossible for people to sleep in public spaces in Grants Pass. And at one meeting, one of the former city council members, she said, “the point is to make it uncomfortable enough for them in our city so they will want to move on down the road.”

So it sounds like, at least in Grants Pass, that this is not really about reducing homelessness. It’s about reducing the number of visible homeless people in the town.

Well, I would say that city officials and many local residents would say that the homeless encampments are actually creating real concerns about public safety, that it’s actually creating all kinds of issues for everyone else who lives in Grants Pass. And there are drug issues and mental health issues, and that this is actually bringing a lot of chaos to the city.

OK. So in order to deal with these concerns, you said that they decided to start enforcing these local measures. What does that actually look like on the ground?

So police started handing out tickets in Grants Pass. These were civil tickets, where people would get fines. And if police noticed people doing this enough times, then they could issue them a trespass from a park. And then that would give — for a certain number of days, somebody would be banned from the park. And if police caught them in the park before that time period was up, then the person could face criminal time. They could go to jail.

And homeless people started racking up fines, hundreds of dollars of fines. I talked to a lot of people who were camping in the parks who had racked up these fines over the years. And each one would have multiple tickets they had no way to pay. I talked to people who tried to challenge the tickets, and they had to leave their belongings back in the park. And they would come back to find someone had taken their stuff or their things had been impounded.

So it just seemed to be this cycle that actually was entrenching people more into homelessness. And yet at the same time, none of these people had left Grants Pass.

So they did make it very uncomfortable for homeless people, but it doesn’t seem to be working. People are not leaving.

Right. People are not leaving. And these tickets and fines, it’s something that people have been dealing with for years in Grants Pass. But in 2018, the Martin v. Boise case happens. And not long after that, a group of people in Grants Pass challenged these ordinances, and they used the Boise case to make their argument that just like in Boise, Grants Pass was punishing people for being involuntarily homeless, that this overlapping group of local ordinances in Grants Pass had made it so there is nowhere to put a pillow and blanket on the ground and sleep without being in some kind of violation of a rule. And this group of local homeless people make the argument that everyone in Grants Pass who is homeless is involuntarily homeless.

And you told us earlier that it was basically the lack of available shelter that makes a homeless person involuntarily homeless. So is there a homeless shelter in Grants Pass?

Well, it sort of depends on the standard that you’re using. So there is no public low-barrier shelter that is easy for somebody to just walk in and stay for a night if they need someplace to go. Grants Pass does not have a shelter like that.

There is one shelter in Grants Pass, but it’s a religious shelter, and there are lots of restrictions. I spoke with the head of the shelter who explained the purpose is really to get people back into the workforce. And so they have a 30-day program that’s really designed for that purpose.

And as part of that, people can’t have pets. People are not allowed to smoke. They’re required to attend Christian religious services. And some of the people who I interviewed, who had chronic mental health and physical disabilities, said that they had been turned away or weren’t able to stay there because of the level of needs that they have. And so if you come in with any kind of issue like that, it can be a problem.

That’s a very long list of restrictions. And of course, people are homeless for a lot of very different reasons. It sounds like a lot of these reasons might actually disqualify them from this particular shelter. So when they say they have nowhere else to go, if they’re in Grants Pass, they kind of have a point.

So that’s what the court decided. In 2022, when the courts heard this case, they agreed with the homeless plaintiffs that there’s no low-barrier shelter in Grants Pass and that the religious shelter did not meet the court’s requirements. But the city, who are actually now represented by the same lawyers who argued for Boise, keeps appealing the case. And they appeal up to the Ninth Circuit just as in the Boise case, and the judges there find in favor of the homeless plaintiffs, and they find that Grants Pass’s ordinances are so restrictive that there is no place where someone can lay down and sleep in Grants Pass and that therefore the city has violated the Eighth Amendment and they cannot enforce these ordinances in the way that they have been for years.

So at that point, the court upholds the Boise precedent, and we’re where we were when it all started. But as we know, that’s not the end of the story. Because this case stays in the court system. What happened?

So by this point, the homelessness problem is really exploding throughout the Western part of the US with more visible encampments, and it really becomes a politically divisive issue. And leaders across the political spectrum point to Boise as a root cause of the problem. So when Grants Pass comes along, people saw that case as a way potentially to undo Boise if only they could get it before the Supreme Court.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We’ll be right back.

Abbie, you just told us that as homeless numbers went up and these homeless encampments really started spreading, it’s no longer just conservatives who want the Supreme Court to revisit the Boise ruling. It’s liberals too.

That’s right. So there’s a really broad group of people who all started pushing for the Supreme Court to take up the Grants Pass case. And they did this by filing briefs to the Supreme Court, laying out their reasoning. And it’s everyone from the liberal governor of California and many progressive liberal cities to some of the most conservative legal groups. And they disagree about their reasoning, but they all are asking the court to clarify how to interpret the Boise decision.

They are saying, essentially, that the Boise decision has been understood in different ways in all different parts of the West and that that is causing confusion and creating all sorts of problems. And they’re blaming that on the Boise case.

It’s interesting, because after everything you told us about these very extreme measures, really, that the city of Grants Pass took against homeless people, it is surprising that these liberal bastions that you’re mentioning are siding with the town in this case.

Just to be clear, they are not saying that they support necessarily the way that Grants Pass or Boise had enforced their laws. But they are saying that the court rulings have tied their hands with this ambiguous decision on how to act.

And what exactly is so ambiguous about the Boise decision? Which if I remember correctly, simply said that if someone is involuntarily homeless, if they’re on the streets because there’s no adequate shelter space available, they can’t be punished for that.

Yeah. So there are a couple of things that are common threads in the cities and the groups that are asking for clarity from the court. And the first thing is that they’re saying, what is adequate shelter? That every homeless person situation is different, so what are cities or places required to provide for people who are homeless? What is the standard that they need to meet?

In order not to sleep on the street.

That’s right. So if the standard is that a city has to have enough beds for everyone who is homeless but certain kinds of shelters or beds wouldn’t qualify, then what are the rules around that? And the second thing is that they’re asking for clarity around what “involuntarily homeless” means. And so in the Boise decision, that meant that someone is involuntarily homeless if there is not enough bed space for them to go to.

But a lot of cities are saying, what about people who don’t want to go into a shelter even if there’s a shelter bed available? If they have a pet or if they are a smoker or if something might prohibit them from going to a shelter, how is the city supposed to weigh that and at what point would they cross a line for the court?

It’s almost a philosophical question. Like, if somebody doesn’t want to be in a shelter, are they still allowed to sleep in a public space?

Yeah. I mean, these are complicated questions that go beyond the Eighth Amendment argument but that a lot of the organizations that have reached out to the court through these friend of the court briefs are asking.

OK. I can see that the unifying element here is that in all these briefs various people from across the spectrum are saying, hello, Supreme Court. We basically need some clarity here. Give us some clarity.

The question that I have is why did the Supreme Court agree to weigh in on Grants Pass after declining to take up Boise?

Well, it’s not possible for us to say for certain because the Supreme Court does not give reasons why it has agreed to hear or to not hear a case. They get thousands of cases a year, and they take up just a few of those, and their deliberations are secret. But we can point to a few things.

One is that the makeup of the court has changed. The court has gained conservative justices in the last few years. This court has not been shy about taking up hot button issues across the spectrum of American society. In this case, the court hasn’t heard a major homelessness case like this.

But I would really point to the sheer number and the range of the people who are petitioning the court to take a look at this case. These are major players in the country who are asking the court for guidance, and the Supreme Court does weigh in on issues of national importance. And the people who are asking for help clearly believe that this is one of those issues.

So let’s start digging into the actual arguments. And maybe let’s start with the city of Grants Pass. What are the central arguments that they’re expected to make before the Supreme Court?

So the city’s arguments turn on this narrow legal issue of whether the Eighth Amendment applies or doesn’t. And they say that it doesn’t. But I actually think that in some ways, that’s not the most helpful way to understanding what Grants Pass is arguing.

What is really at the heart of their argument is that if the court upholds Grants Pass and Boise, that they are tying the hands of Grants Pass and hundreds of other towns and cities to actually act to solve and respond to homelessness. And by that, I mean to solve issues of people camping in the parks but also more broadly of public safety issues, of being able to address problems as they arise in a fluid and flexible way in the varied ways that they’re going to show up in all these different places.

And their argument is if the court accepts the Grants Pass and Boise holdings, that they will be constitutionalizing or freezing in place and limiting all of these governments from acting.

Right. This is essentially the argument being repeated again and again in those briefs that you mentioned earlier, that unless the Supreme Court overturns these decisions, it’s almost impossible for these cities to get the encampments under control.

Yes, that’s right. And they also argue they need to have flexibility in dealing actually with people who are homeless and being able to figure out using a local ordinance to try to convince someone to go to treatment, that they say they need carrots and sticks. They need to be able to use every tool that they can to be able to try to solve this problem.

And how do we make sense of that argument when Grants Pass is clearly not using that many tools to deal with homeless people? For example, it didn’t have shelters, as you mentioned.

So the city’s argument is that this just should not be an Eighth Amendment issue, that this is the wrong way to think about this case, that issues around homelessness and how a city handles it is a policy question. So things like shelter beds or the way that the city is handling their ordinances should really be left up to policymakers and city officials, not to this really broad constitutional argument. And so therefore, the city is likely to focus their argument entirely on this very narrow question.

And how does the other side counter this argument?

The homeless plaintiffs are going to argue that there’s nothing in the lower courts’ decisions that say that cities can’t enforce their laws that, they can’t stop people from littering, that they can’t stop drug use, that they can’t clear encampments if there becomes public safety problems. They’re just saying that a city cannot not provide shelter and then make it illegal for people to lay down and sleep.

So both sides are saying that a city should be able to take action when there’s public disorder as a result of these homeless encampments. But they’re pointing at each other and saying, the way you want to handle homelessness is wrong.

I think everyone in this case agrees that homelessness and the increase in homelessness is bad for everyone. It’s bad for people who are camping in the park. It is bad for the community, that nobody is saying that the current situation is tenable. Everyone is saying there need to be solutions. We need to be able to figure out what to do about homelessness and how to care for people who are homeless.

How do we wrestle with all these problems? It’s just that the way that they think about it couldn’t be further apart.

And what can you tell me about how the Supreme Court is actually expected to rule in this?

There are a number of ways that the justices could decide on this case. They could take a really narrow approach and just focus on Grants Pass and the arguments about those local ordinances. I think that’s somewhat unlikely because they’ve decided to take up this case of national importance.

A ruling in favor of the homeless plaintiffs would mean that they’ve accepted this Eighth Amendment argument, that you cannot criminalize being homeless. And a ruling for the city, every legal expert I’ve talked to has said that would mean an end to Boise and that it would break apart the current state that we’ve been living in for these last several years.

I’m struck by how much this case and our conversation has been about policing homelessness rather than actually addressing the root causes of homelessness. We’re not really talking about, say, the right to shelter or the right to treatment for people who are mentally ill and sleeping on the streets as a result, which is quite a big proportion. And at the end of the day, whatever way the ruling goes, it will be about the visibility of homelessness and not the root causes.

Yeah, I think that’s right. That’s really what’s looming in the background of this case is what impact is it going to have. Will it make things better or worse and for who? And these court cases have really become this talking point for cities and for their leaders, blaming the spike in encampments and the visibility of homelessness on these court decisions. But homelessness, everyone acknowledges, is such a complicated issue.

People have told me in interviews for the story, they’ve blamed increases in homelessness on everything from the pandemic to forest fires to skyrocketing housing costs in the West Coast, and that the role that Boise and now Grants Pass play in this has always been a little hard to pin down. And if the Supreme Court overturns those cases, then we’ll really see whether they were the obstacle that political leaders said that they were. And if these cases fall, it remains to be seen whether cities do try to find all these creative solutions with housing and services to try to help people who are homeless or whether they once again fall back on just sending people to jail.

Abbie, thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Here’s what else you need to know today. Early on Friday, Israel attacked a military base in Central Iran. The explosion came less than a week after Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend and was part of a cycle of retaliation that has brought the shadow war between the two countries out in the open. The scale and method of Friday’s attack remained unclear, and the initial reaction in both Israel and Iran was to downplay its significance. World leaders have urged both sides to exercise restraint in order to avoid sparking a broader war in the region.

And 12 New Yorkers have been selected to decide Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan, clearing the way for opening statements to begin as early as Monday. Seven new jurors were added in short order on Thursday afternoon, hours after two others who had already been picked were abruptly excused.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign. If the jury convicts him, he faces up to four years in prison. Finally —

This is the New York Police Department.

The New York Police Department said it took at least 108 protesters into custody at Columbia University after University officials called the police to respond to a pro-Palestinian demonstration and dismantle a tent encampment.

We’re supporting Palestine. We’re supporting Palestine. 1, 2, 3, 4.

The crackdown prompted more students to vow that demonstrations would continue, expressing outrage at both the roundup of the student protesters and the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

Free, free Palestine.

Today’s episode was produced by Olivia Natt, Stella Tan, and Eric Krupke with help from Rachelle Bonja. It was edited by Liz Baylen, fact checked by Susan Lee, contains original music by Will Reid Pat McCusker Dan Powell and Diane Wong and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Katrin Bennhold. See you on Monday.

• April 19, 2024   •   30:42 The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness
• April 18, 2024   •   30:07 The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial
• April 17, 2024   •   24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
• April 16, 2024   •   29:29 A.I.’s Original Sin
• April 15, 2024   •   24:07 Iran’s Unprecedented Attack on Israel
• April 14, 2024   •   46:17 The Sunday Read: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’
• April 12, 2024   •   34:23 How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam
• April 11, 2024   •   28:39 The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics
• April 10, 2024   •   22:49 Trump’s Abortion Dilemma
• April 9, 2024   •   30:48 How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall
• April 8, 2024   •   30:28 The Eclipse Chaser
• April 7, 2024 The Sunday Read: ‘What Deathbed Visions Teach Us About Living’

Hosted by Katrin Bennhold

Featuring Abbie VanSickle

Produced by Olivia Natt ,  Stella Tan ,  Eric Krupke and Rachelle Bonja

Edited by Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Will Reid ,  Pat McCusker ,  Dan Powell and Diane Wong

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Debates over homeless encampments in the United States have intensified as their number has surged. To tackle the problem, some cities have enforced bans on public camping.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments about whether such actions are legal, Abbie VanSickle, who covers the court for The Times, discusses the case and its far-reaching implications.

On today’s episode

Abbie VanSickle , a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading

A ruling in the case could help determine how states, particularly those in the West, grapple with a rising homelessness crisis .

In a rare alliance, Democrats and Republicans are seeking legal power to clear homeless camps .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Fact-checking by Susan Lee .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Katrin Bennhold is the Berlin bureau chief. A former Nieman fellow at Harvard University, she previously reported from London and Paris, covering a range of topics from the rise of populism to gender. More about Katrin Bennhold

Abbie VanSickle covers the United States Supreme Court for The Times. She is a lawyer and has an extensive background in investigative reporting. More about Abbie VanSickle

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Middle East latest: Rockets 'fired towards US military base in Syria'

At least five rockets are launched from the Iraqi town of Zummar towards a US military base in northeastern Syria, security sources tell Reuters. The attack against American forces is the first since February, when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped targeting US troops.

Sunday 21 April 2024 22:59, UK

• Israel-Hamas war

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• Iran 'displayed power' in attack on Israel, Supreme Leader insists - despite failure
• Rockets 'fired from Iraq towards US military base in Syria'
• Baby delivered in emergency C-section after mother killed in Rafah strike
• Netanyahu: Israel will increase pressure on Hamas 'in coming days' 
• Sean Bell: New details hint at impact of Israeli strike on Iran
• At least 14 Palestinians killed in West Bank raid, authorities say
• Analysis: Iran isn't biggest threat to the coalition right now

Before the Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October, the Lebanon border area was judged to have enjoyed a relative period of calm and stability.

But that all changed with the events across the border.

Since then Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops have been exchanging more and more serious fire, violating the terms of an earlier agreement contained in the UN Resolution 1701.

Here, our special correspondent Alex Crawford reports from the "Blue Line" in southern Lebanon...

At least five rockets have been fired from Iraq's town of Zummar towards a US military base in northeastern Syria, two Iraqi security sources have told Reuters.

The security sources and a senior army officer said a rocket launcher fixed on the back of a small truck had been parked in Zummar border town with Syria.

The military official said the truck caught fire with an explosion from unfired rockets at the same time as warplanes were in the sky.

The attack against US forces is the first since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against US troops.

It comes a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani returned from a visit to the US and met with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Hezbollah has claimed it downed an Israeli drone that was on a combat mission in southern Lebanon.

The drone that was brought down above the Al Aishiyeh area in southern Lebanon was "waging its attacks on our steadfast people," a statement by the group said, according to Reuters.

Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy operating from Lebanon and it frequently trades rocket and drone attacks with Israel across the Lebanese-Israeli border. 

Earlier today, Iran's supreme leader dismissed any discussion of whether Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel hit anything there.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments to senior military leaders did not not touch on the apparent Israeli retaliatory strike on the central city of Isfahan on Friday, even though air defences opened fire and Iran grounded commercial flights across much of the country.

The 85-year-old made the comments in a meeting attended by the top ranks of Iran's regular military, police and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force within its Shiite theocracy.

We have been reporting this weekend on the Israeli raid at Nur Shams, in the occupied West Bank.

The raid began in the early hours of Friday and troops were still exchanging fire with armed fighters into Saturday.

Here are some of the images that have emerged from the region...

By Alex Crawford , special correspondent

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon has told Sky News the dangers in the region have not gone away and called for calm, wisdom and de-escalation as a matter of urgency.

Joanna Wronecka spoke from her office in Beirut about her worries and appealed for restraint from all those involved.

"I'm very concerned," she said. "Because we need just a small miscalculation and the situation can escalate even more."

She was referring to the spike in cross-border firing between the Israeli military and the Lebanese Hezbollah fighters who've been trading attacks with growing intensity since 7 October.

You can read Crawford's full piece here...

The campaigner who was called "openly Jewish" by a police officer last weekend, has been offered a meeting with a senior Metropolitan Police officer.

In a statement, the force said assistant commissioner Matt Twist had written to Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, to offer a private meeting.

The meeting is "to both apologise to him personally and discuss what more the Met can do to ensure Jewish Londoners feel safe", the police said.

We reported this morning the Board of Deputies of British Jews will meet Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley this week, along with the Jewish Leadership Council and antisemitism charity CST regarding the incident (see post at 2.05pm).

 A baby girl was delivered in an emergency caesarean section after her Palestinian mother was killed along with her husband and daughter by an Israeli attack in the Gaza city of Rafah, Palestinian health officials have said.

The baby is stable and improving gradually, Mohammed Salama, a doctor caring for her, said.

Her mother, Sabreen Al-Sakani, had been 30 weeks pregnant.

The baby will stay in hospital for three to four weeks, Dr Salama said.

"After that we will see about her leaving, and where this child will go, to the family, to the aunt or uncle or grandparents. Here is the biggest tragedy. Even if this child survives, she was born an orphan," he said.

Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.

It has also vowed to expand its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today and discussed the state of the region, a spokesperson for the German government has said.

"The chancellor emphasised that it was essential to avoid a regional escalation," the spokesperson said.

It comes as Iran and Israel, who have been locked in a shadow war for years, try to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory attacks between them as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider region.

Israel war cabinet member Benny Gantz has spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and asked him to reconsider the decision to sanction the IDF's Netzah Yehuda battalion, the American news website Axios reports, citing Mr Gantz's office.

For context : This weekend a report from Axios claimed the US was expected to announce sanctions within days on the IDF battalion for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank.  

Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu has already responded, warning it is "forbidden" to sanction the IDF.

The Axios report adds it would be the first time the US has imposed sanctions on an Israeli military unit.

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