ISTANBUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkish people and foreign tourists on Wednesday marked "Museum Selfie Day" by taking photos in more than 300 museums and ancient sites across the country.
Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism called on the people to catch selfies in museums and share them on social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The ministry also launched a competition, announcing in several languages that the best selfie of a Turkish citizen and a foreign visitor will be awarded.
The Turkish winner of the competition will get a free museum card, valid for a year, while the foreign visitor who wins will receive a free ticket to one of the concerts of the State Opera and Ballet, said the ministry in a statement posted on its website.
One of the hot spot museums of the day was Madame Tussauds, the world's famous waxwork museum, located on the busiest Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul.
Many locals and foreigners have taken selfies with their favorite celebrities, politicians and historical figures, all made of wax.
Among the visitors were two Turkish university students who were there to snap several selfies with scientist Albert Einstein.
"I hope I will be the winner," Ali Gur, one of the students, told Xinhua, noting that visiting Istanbul museums free of charge will be incredible for him as a student.
A Russian woman tourist and her daughter, meanwhile, preferred to take their selfies with the wax sculptor of one of the Ottoman Sultans.
"I was not aware of that competition, but I have been informed at the entrance of the museum," she said, adding that she would post her photos on Instagram with the specific hashtag.
Museum selfies became popular in 2015, when Jay-Z and Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter, two American singers, posted their selfies in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Their photos went viral on social media, boosting the number of visitors to the museum.
