Istanbul's new opera house opens its doors to visitors on 98th anniversary of Turkey's Republic Day

A new opera house opened on Istanbul's iconic Taksim square on Friday, in celebration of the 98th anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish republic. In addition to the 2,500-seat opera house, the Atatürk Cultural Centre - named after the republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - also houses a cinema, libraries, cafes and restaurants. It was built to replace an older structure that was demolished in 2018. With its glass facade, the new building recalls the architecture of the previous centre. The spherical auditorium is dark red and is made up of 15,000 handmade ceramic tiles, and can be seen from the outside through the facade. The new building was designed by architect Murat Tabanlıoğlu, the son of the architect Hayati Tabanlıoğlu who designed the previous structure. The centre, known as AKM, was originally built in 1969 as the Istanbul Culture Palace to represent modern Turkey. The centre was later renovated and reopened in 1977 after a fire in 1970. However, performances stalled in 2008 and the building fell into disuse. The foundations for the new building were laid in February 2019.

Istanbul's new opera house opens its doors to visitors on 98th anniversary of Turkey's Republic Day

The Atatürk Cultural Center [located in the megacity of Istanbul] has re-opened its doors to the visitors on the 98th anniversary of Turkey's Republic Day after 2-year construction.