Old barracks to open as ‘Istanbul’s largest library’

Rami Barracks is under restoration for use as Istanbul’s largest library, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced.

The building which will serve as both an art center, a public garden and “a library with features that can appeal to everyone” will be opened on Jan. 13, the minister said, speaking at the opening ceremony of another public library named after author Doğan Hızlan.

“We are happy to open our libraries one after the other in Istanbul this year,” Ersoy said, citing the library opened in early December in memory of the late writer Rıfat Ilgaz.

The library will have a seating capacity of more than 4,000 and a book capacity of 2.5 million.