New İstanbul Aquarium has already become a top attraction

Mehmet Solmaz -

The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality launched the İstanbul Aquarium project, in which TL 268 million was invested. Designed by the municipality, the aquarium complex sits on an area of approximately 100 acres in Florya.

In an interview with Sunday’s Zaman, İstanbul Aquarium General Director Sami Milli stated that he has taken part in all stages of the aquarium’s planning since 2007, from its draft sketches to its opening ceremony, when the aquarium was inaugurated by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş in June.

Visitors can see 15,000 species of fish at the İstanbul Aquarium, which features 16 regions of the world, from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Inside the aquarium are an exploration trail and an interactive rain forest. The aquarium project was announced in 2003, and its plans were completed after İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality officials visited other important thematic aquariums around the world.

Cutting-edge technology is used throughout the Istanbul Aquarium. Informative touch screen computers accompany every exhibit, showing information about the species and also about the theme of the particular section. The filters that are used for cleaning the aquarium, the water pumping system, the quarantine zones and all the stainless metal components of the aquarium were also designed and produced with the latest technology.

“There isn’t another place in Turkey where people can find a lot of information gathered together about marine species. This even though we are living in a country surrounded by seas on three sides: north, west and south. People can get to know marine plants and animals in the aquarium and build a relationship with them. I believe that without knowing something very well, it is difficult to love it. If people come and see the beautiful species that populate the world’s oceans and seas, hopefully this will help them become more nature-friendly.”

Milli said that building the aquarium was a difficult task. Project planners had to visit other countries to find appropriate technologies, in some cases arrange getting them to Turkey, and combine these with domestic technology for the best result. But their hard work paid off: the İstanbul Aquarium is now the most technologically advanced aquarium in the world.

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