Travellers planning a late-day archaeological visit in southwest Türkiye should use a new, site-specific timetable published by the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage and Museums on 1 September 2026. Knidos in Muğla has a staged reduction in closing time through mid-October; Sagalassos and Kibyra in Burdur are listed from 09:00 to 19:00 throughout September. The notice is concise, but it contains an overlap for 15 September, so that date deserves confirmation rather than guesswork.
Knidos closes progressively earlier
The official notice lists Knidos closing at 20:00 from 1–15 September, 19:30 from 15–30 September and 18:30 from 1–15 October. That makes the later window available for less time as daylight shortens. These are site closing times; the announcement does not say that ticket sales or final admission continue until the same minute.
Sagalassos and Kibyra are listed 09:00–19:00
Both Burdur sites have the same published September window: 09:00 to 19:00 from 1–30 September. Visitors should still allow enough time for the terrain and the route from the entrance. A 19:00 closing time is not a sensible target arrival time, especially at Sagalassos, where the archaeological area requires walking.
The 15 September wording overlaps
The Knidos periods are written as 1–15 September and 15–30 September, placing 15 September in both ranges with two different closing times. Turkey Compass has not converted that ambiguity into an invented answer. Anyone visiting on that date should confirm the applicable time with the site or the Marmaris Museum Directorate and plan around the earlier 19:30 limit if confirmation is unavailable.
Use the newer site-specific notice
A broader 2026 seasonal table still displays longer hours for some of these venues. The dated 1 September notice names Knidos, Sagalassos and Kibyra individually and provides new period-specific times, so it is the more specific operational source for these three sites. Third-party map listings and old tour pages may lag behind the change.
What to check before a long drive
Confirm the current closing and last-admission time, road access, weather and any conservation restrictions on the day of travel. Knidos, Sagalassos and Kibyra are not interchangeable short city stops: each can involve a substantial drive and exposed outdoor walking. Transport, guided-tour and ticket-desk schedules may differ from the archaeological site's published closing time.
The defensible conclusion
The ministry has changed the autumn timetable for these three sites, but it has not announced a nationwide museum-hours change. Knidos follows three date bands; Sagalassos and Kibyra share a September 09:00–19:00 schedule. The only unresolved point in the text is Knidos on 15 September, and travellers should treat that as a verification item rather than assume the later time.