Istanbul Reunites with the AKM!

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), whose foundation he laid on February 10, 2019, on October 29, 2021, the 98th anniversary of our Republic. The opening was attended by Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy along with other ministers, members of parliament, representatives of political parties and local governments, art lovers and invited guests. Representing TÜROB, President Müberra Eresin, Vice President Taner Yallagöz and Board Member Temel Aygün attended the opening program.

The AKM houses a 2,040-seat opera hall, an 802-seat theater hall, a gallery, a multipurpose hall, a children's art center, a music platform, a music recording studio, a library conceived as an information center and focused on areas of specialization such as music, art, architecture and design, the Yeşilçam Cinema and a design shop. The most prominent feature of the AKM is the opera hall, a giant sphere facing Taksim Square and clad with 15,000 specially designed and manufactured ceramic pieces. As a result of physical, technical and architectural analyses, the opera hall was designed and built in a horseshoe shape to achieve the best natural acoustics. It was constructed to the standards of the world's finest opera halls in terms of high-quality sound and reverberation time. The hall can provide the right acoustic conditions primarily for opera, but also for symphonic concerts and electro-acoustically supported performances. The cladding along the side walls was specially designed to meet acoustic requirements. Since it was necessary to avoid sound absorbers such as carpet or other textile flooring in the opera hall, a wooden floor was chosen.

We extend our thanks to our esteemed President and our Minister of Culture and Tourism, and to all who contributed, for not sparing their close attention in bringing this magnificent work back to our country and to our Istanbul, and we wish it the very best.

TÜROB Board of Directors