Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the Diyarbakır Memorial Museum and Cultural Center (Diyarbakır Anı Müzesi ve Kültür Merkezi) will become a round-the-clock cultural and educational hub once completed, serving not only as a museum preserving historical memory but also as a center for research and learning.
According to a statement from the ministry, Ersoy inspected ongoing restoration and development work at the museum.
Speaking during his visit, Ersoy said the project began after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced during a July 2021 visit to Diyarbakır, southeastern Türkiye, that the former Diyarbakır Prison would be transformed into a memory museum and cultural center.
Ersoy said the project was designed as a historical center to highlight the importance of democracy and how democratic systems contribute to the development of societies. He said it was important to convey to younger generations the negative effects of the military junta’s suspension of democracy following the 1980 coup.
A reconstructed prison ward featuring life-size figures depicts daily life inside the former Diyarbakır Prison, which is being transformed into the Diyarbakır Memorial Museum and Cultural Center, Diyarbakır, Türkiye, July 23, 2026. (AA Photo)
