Thanks for posting a series of excellent photos of what appears to be an aquarium empty of tourists! Did you have to wait patiently for the lineups to disappear before clicking your camera? How does Istanbul stack up in comparison to Valencia or Lisbon? The whole facility looks to be terrific, and I particularly like this photo as I'm a huge fan of immersive-style tanks. The giant roots and overhanging foliage add a lot of "character" to what could have been a basic aquatic exhibit, and any hint of the Amazon rainforest is certainly better than a square, boring old tank with no added flavor.
Thanks for posting a series of excellent photos of what appears to be an aquarium empty of tourists! Did you have to wait patiently for the lineups to disappear before clicking your camera? How does Istanbul stack up in comparison to Valencia or Lisbon? The whole facility looks to be terrific, and I particularly like this photo as I'm a huge fan of immersive-style tanks. The giant roots and overhanging foliage add a lot of "character" to what could have been a basic aquatic exhibit, and any hint of the Amazon rainforest is certainly better than a square, boring old tank with no added flavor.
Well spotted. I had to wait on a few occasions for visitors to clear the area, but the aquarium wasn't busy. I think this is because I visited late on a Thursday afternoon, and was the last to leave. I've glossed over much of what I'm about to write on my 'Asian Adventure' thread.
I really liked this Amazonian area. It could have easily been a cheap hall with a lower ceiling. I'd have really liked to see some free-flying birds to make use of all the space, but it was good. In some areas (e.g. where the path runs alongside the wall) landscaping could have been better, as could signage, but overall it's a fairly impressive exhibit.
I've yet to visit Valencia, so Lisbon was my benchmark. It's hard to compare the two as Lisbon is very clearly a world-class aquarium; it has a major central exhibit with outstanding satellite exhibits. It would certainly win if it were compared to Istanbul. However, the standard of this aquarium is very high, and easily surpasses any Sea Life aquaria or any of the others I've seen in the UK. Signage and theming are excellent, and there are entire zones with no living displays - some are very ambitious in the messages they try to get across. On a trip to Istanbul aquarium it's difficult not to learn anything about Turkish (or Mediterranean) history, mythology, world geography or marine biology. A lot of the aquarium is very appealing - perfect for school trips, I imagine.
Although it has a magnificent selection of Mediterranean fauna which I can't yet compare to any other aquarium I've seen, the main focus point of the aquarium is a little unclear. The main tank looks bigger than I had initially expected, but I feel the aquarium lacks a major awe-inspiring (or at least incredibly impressive) exhibit. An unusual large fish in the main tank would do it though. At least they're not plagued by otters or penguins though.
