What it is
A large public aquarium behind Konyaaltı, built around a very long acrylic tunnel that you walk through while the tanks close over your head.
Beyond the tunnel there are themed tanks — Mediterranean species, tropical reef, reptiles and amphibians — and it is comfortably an afternoon with children.
Who it suits
⭐ It is the standard answer to a hot afternoon or a wet one, and it is the one attraction in this guide that is entirely indoors and entirely air-conditioned.
The numbers
The aquarium was set up in the Konyaaltı district by the metropolitan municipality on a build-operate-transfer model, and it has been among the five places in Turkey most visited by tourists. It has 64 tanks holding 6,800 cubic meters of water in all. The centerpiece tunnel is 131 meters long and 3 meters wide, and its decor, designed by the Italian sculptor Benedetti, includes a life-size airplane, ship and submarine wreck. The Turkish Wikipedia article describes it as the largest tunnel aquarium in the world.
Two other sections sit under the same roof. WildPark, which opened together with 70 themed aquariums, holds exotic animals: lizards, snakes, venomous spiders and tortoises. Snow World is a 1,500-square-meter indoor hall kept below freezing, where visitors are given protective clothing at the entrance and real snow is made at night. There are also places to eat and drink inside.
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