Indoor activities for those cold winter days

Museums, for instance, can be a wonderful place, not only to educate but also to entertain. They are the places to explore science, history or art in further depth, vividly and with fun. But sure, the number of museums in Turkey is hardly manageable today. The easiest way to create order from this chaos -- in this regard -- is to equip yourself with an ordinary travel guide about Turkey or your city and region in particular. Or you may learn more about the Turkish world of museums at the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Web site (www.kultur.gov.tr). Available in 11 languages, the site lists no less than 38 museums, palaces and spiritual places across the country. The Yellow Pages at the foreigners’ online forum MyMerhaba (www.mymerhaba.com) lists another 50 indoor sites, including their contact information or Web site if available. Entrance fees to Turkish museums may vary between TL 1 and 20.

If you are a student, however, the museum card (Müze Kart) could be an opportunity for you. Introduced in June 2008 by the Culture Ministry, the holder of such a card has unlimited access to over 300 public museums and sites. The card can be purchased at some of the bigger museums or online at www.muzekart.com. Don’t forget to bring a passport photo. Until further notice, however, the museum card is only available to Turkish citizens (TL 20) and for students registered at Turkish universities (TL 10). According to the ministry, it will be made available for all foreigners in 2010.

Ever been to a planetarium in Turkey?

An alternative to a museum stroll may be a visit to the planetarium. Never heard of it? Well, a planetarium is a kind of theater with a large, dome-shaped projection screen above some comfortable deck chairs. Scenes of stars and planets are shown here and lots of information is given about astronomy and the universe. Most famous among these planetariums is surely the huge Discovery Sphere, located at the Rahmi M. Koç Museum in İstanbul. It is open all year round during the museum’s regular visiting hours, and for a small fee of TL 3-7, the visitor will hear the answers to questions such as “How do the planets move?” or “How can directions be found by looking at stars?” and not to forget: “Why are winter nights so long?” The Web site of the Turkish Astronomy Association (TAD), reachable at www.tad.org.tr, lisst a full dozen other planetariums across Turkey and provides contact information and includes notes about fees and programs.

For those who favor the deep sea more than the depth of the space, a visit to TurkuaZoo, Turkey’s largest public aquarium by far, may be recommendable. Opened in October, this underwater world located in İstanbul’s Bayrampaşa district is home to over 10,000 sea creatures and hosts one of the world’s longest underground tunnels: 80 meters in length. Here you really feel like you are swimming -- ok, walking -- with the fishes. Guided tours and workshops offer visitors a great experience with loads of information about life in the oceans. Entrance fees to the TurkuaZoo are TL 25, with tickets available at TL 18 for students and seniors over the age of 65. Find more details at www.turkuazoo.com.

And lets be honest, winter cold does not mean that sports activities should be placed on hold until spring, right? In fact, there are many indoor sports to enjoy in Turkey over the darker months. The most common choice among city dwellers may therefore be to go to a fitness club. Indeed, over the last few years, plenty of health clubs and sport centers have been popping up across Turkey, allowing customers to participate in a wide range of activities, from aerobic classes and dance courses to bodybuilding and swimming. Most of these centers require membership, which means you must pay a certain fee per month or per year to use the equipment. Prices may vary between TL 100-200 per month, according to the establishment’s facilities. Just look for and compare the advertisements, or ask around among friends for references.

A cheaper variant, and often just as well, may be a subscription to one of the many public sports clubs operated by municipalities in Turkey. They also may include indoor facilities like tennis courts, indoor soccer and basketball fields or indoor pools. If there is such a public sports club in your region, you can find out more on your municipality’s Web site.

Another idea: Why not skip the common cinema program from time to time and replace it with some joyful live art performances? Many event halls in Turkey have a great schedule, and they are getting bigger and better every year. Tickets for various theaters, shows, festivals, classical or contemporary concerts can be found at the ticket sale company Biletix. Its Web site, www.biletix.com, is available in English, and you can even hear detailed event information from the English-speaking personnel at the company’s call center.

Don’t miss out on the State Theater’s Web site, reachable at www.devtiyatro.gov.tr. They have a very colorful program, Especially during the winter season, with pieces touring through more than 20 cities in Turkey. Tickets are very cheap, usually not more than TL 6, and are available from MyBilet (www.mybilet.com).

Or are you better off with arts and handicrafts? At the traveler and expat online forum All About Turkey (www.allaboutturkey.com), you can find a comprehensive introduction to all kinds of traditional arts found and practiced in Turkey, such as creative ceramics, glasswork, porcelain and painting courses or jewelry design. Public courses in these arts are offered by municipalities. When in İstanbul, you may also have a look around Les Arts Turcs (www.lesartsturcs.com), an organization founded some years ago by a group of artists with the aim to “bridge cultures by art.” Les Arts Turcs holds classes, too, on traditional Turkish handicrafts in particular, such as painting, henna, marbling, calligraphy and much more.

Reading broadens the mind