Discounts in Istanbul / Museum Cards / Istanbul Card?

I don't recall seeing any senior discounts in Istanbul or anywhere in Turkey --- and I am marginally old enough to be on the lookout for senior discounts -- but I might have missed something.

I don't know about the company you came across, but I have purchased museum passes from the official site at https://muze.gen.tr/MuseumPasses. I doubt that the private site will be a better value because the private companies are still going to have to buy the tickets from the Turkish government.

You have to do the math on whether the museum pass makes sense for you. If you are planning to visit Topkapi Palace and the harem along with a couple of museums, it's probably worth it. Topkapi and the harem (and you definitely want to do the harem if you do Topkapi) are the big ticket items. A couple of other things to keep in mind. The official museum pass allows you to skip the ticket line, which can save a lot of time at places like Topkapi. Also, the museum pass only includes national sites and museums that are owned and operated by the Turkish government. It does not include municipally owned sites like the Basilica Cistern. Make sure you study the list of exactly which sites are included.

I found the museum pass to be worth the cost in Istanbul. The Mediterranean/Aegean passes didn't work for me on a longer stay in Antalya because of expiration dates.

Thank you for your reply and the link that you sent me. That was one of the links that I was thinking of.

The 5 day Museum Card costs about $65.00 if I did currency exchange correctly. It might be worth it. Besides free admission to several museums, you can get some discounted admissions to other attractions. And you get skip the line, The fast entry is a giant plus.

Of the museums listed on the site, one or two are free anyways and one or two are closed, at least for now. Perhaps they will be open again by the time that I am in Istanbul in 2023.

This is one other link that I was wondering about. Do you know anything about the following

https://istanbultouristpass.com

and here is another one

https://istanbulwelcomecard.com/shop

I have also looked at the two other options you linked (welcome card and Istanbul card). They don't seem like a good value to me, especially since you've noted in other posts that you will only be there a couple of days. Both cards offer guided tours, but could mean you have to be there at specific times (no flexibility). Also, the fine print notes that even though the passes are "skip the line", that's only the ticket line, not security which they note can be up to an hour some places like Hagia Sophia. I suggest making a list of what you want to do (sights, transportation, etc.) to see if the cost/benefit works out in your favor.

Thanks for your advice CL.

I am just beginning to realize how tight security is and with good reason.

When I go into places like museums, mosques and palaces, am I allowed to bring a sling bag? What about a bottle of water? What am I allowed to bring? What am I not allowed to bring?

I know that I need I.D. I will have my passport with me

They've raised the price of the Museum Pass to TL2250, about $84 US. (The lira is currently worth under $.04.) If you go to all the covered places, I think you'll save a bit of money, but not a lot, and the pass is only good for 5 days. I don't know how much value to put on avoiding ticket lines at sights since I haven't yet been to any of them and haven't checked to see which, if any, allow purchase of individual tickets online, which would also allow you to skip the ticket line. I also haven't done the research on the possible discounts the pass might offer at other sights. They say there are some discounts but don't seem to document them on the pass website.

I'm not thrilled that they encourage people considering the pass to double-count the value of the Harem and Hagia Irene entries by listing them separately as well as including the Topkapi combo ticket.

The best I can tell, the listed Great Palace Mosaics Museum is currently closed.

This pass doesn't seem like a particularly good financial deal to me, but again, the line-skipping may be worthwhile--but at how many sights?

When I go into places like museums, mosques and palaces, am I allowed to bring a sling bag?
I carried my Baggalini with no problem. We put our bags through a security scanner, and in some places, we walked through a metal detector.

What about a bottle of water?
I brought my bottled water through security checks.

What am I allowed to bring? What am I not allowed to bring?
I can't find an official statement on the Istanbul Museums website. With the exception of liquids, I would assume similar restrictions as if going through airport security. Perhaps with an additional restriction on tools/objects that might be used to damage the museum/mosque.

The only official website of museums is https://muze.gov.tr/ and can be purchased online tickets.