More and more holiday-goers are ending up in jail – as it becomes increasingly popular to convert the former strongholds into hotels and museums, reports Canoe Travel.
The Four Seasons, for example, has two lovely hotels in Istanbul – one a former palace and the other a former prison. The Istanbul at Sultanahmet was built as a jail in 1919 – the interior has undergone considerable renovation to turn it into a luxury hotel, but the structure retains the original stone, tiling and woodwork.
Another such establishment is the York Castle Museum in York, England. The huge complex was once a prison for some of England’s most notorious criminals, including the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin. Today, the castle serves as a public museum, with military, toy, and costume galleries and even a replica of a Victorian-era cobblestone street.
One section of the museum, however, remains dedicated to its past, and guests can see the original jail cells where prisoners were kept. Items on display include manacles and fetters, and visitors can even search a database of 18th century criminals, imprisoned debtors, and victims of crime.
Closer to home, the Science East Museum in Fredericton, New Brunswick is housed in the city’s former York County Jail. Built in 1842, the structure retains the dungeon in the basement, which has been converted into a museum exhibit about the jail’s 154-year history.