When Did Anıtkabir Construction Begin? Architecture and Departments

Ataturk's Mausoleum, located in the capital of Turkey is Ankara's Cankaya district of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's mausoleum.

After Atatürk's death on November 10, 1938, it was announced that on November 13, Atatürk's body would be buried in a monumental tomb to be built in Ankara and the body would remain in Ankara Ethnography Museum until this construction was completed. In line with the report of the commission established by the government in order to determine the place where this monumental tomb will be built, it was decided to build Anıtkabir in Rasattepe at the assembly meeting of the Republican People's Party, which was held on January 17, 1939. Following this decision, while the expropriation works were initiated on the land, a project competition was launched on March 1, 1941 to determine the design of Anıtkabir. As a result of the evaluations made after the competition that ended on March 2, 1942, Emin Onat and Orhan Arda's project was determined first. The project was launched with a groundbreaking ceremony held in August 1944, with a number of changes made in several different periods. Construction carried out in four parts; It was completed in October 1952 late than planned and targeted due to a number of problems and disruptions. On November 10, 1953, Atatürk's body was transferred here.

Cemal Gürsel's body was buried in Anıtkabir in 1973, where the tomb of İsmet İnönü has been located since 1966 and was removed on 27 August 1988.

Background and location of the mausoleum

After Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's death at the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul on November 10, 1938, various discussions started about the burial site in the press. November 10, 1938 dated November 11, 1938 in Dry with newspaper Tan Atatürk's not clear where it will be buried and stated that this decision will give the Grand National Assembly of Turkey; It is stated that the tomb is likely to be built in the middle of Ankara Castle, the garden of the first assembly building, Atatürk Park or Orman Çiftliği, next to Çankaya Mansion. In a statement made by the government on November 13, it was stated that until the construction of a monumental tomb for Atatürk, it was decided that his body would remain in Ankara Ethnography Museum. On the evening of November 15, it was written that the monumental tomb was built on the ridge where the Ankara Ethnography Museum was located. Although the only proposal for the burial to be carried out in a place other than Ankara was made by the Governor of Istanbul Muhittin Üstündağ to Hasan Rıza Soyak, the Secretary General of the Presidency, this proposal was not accepted. The funeral, which was moved from Istanbul to Ankara on November 19, was put into the museum with a ceremony held on November 21.

While there is no statement about Atatürk's burial place in Atatürk's will opened on 28 November; During his lifetime, he had some verbal statements and memories on this subject. According to a memoir that Afet Inan quoted in the Ulus newspaper dated June 26, 1950, regarding Recep Peker's suggestion of the crossroad on the road from Ulus Square to Ankara Station for the grave site, Atatürk said, “It is a good and crowded place. But I cannot bequeath such a place to my nation. " had answered. In the same memory, Inan was a multi-participant event held in the summer of 1932. sohbet that he wanted Atatürk to be buried in Çankaya during; However, on the night of that day, when he was returning to Çankaya by car, he stated that he told him, "My nation will bury me wherever they want, but Çankaya will be the place where my memories will live." In his memoirs written in 1959, Münir Hayri Egeli stated that Atatürk wanted a grave on a hill in Orman Çiftliği, which is not covered on all sides and covered with the “Address to the Youth” on the door; “All this is my opinion. The Turkish nation will certainly build a grave for me in a way that suits me. " It conveys that it has completed in the form.

Prime Minister Celâl Bayar stated that at the Republican People's Party Assembly Group meeting held on November 29, the report prepared by the commission created by experts to determine the location of the monumental tomb will be put into practice after being presented to the group's approval. Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Undersecretary Kemal Gedeleç; The first meeting of the commission, which was formed by Generals Fixed and Right from the Ministry of National Defense, Kazım, Director General of Construction Affairs from the Ministry of Public Works, Undersecretary Vehbi Demirel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Cevat Dursunoğlu, Director of the Ministry of National Education, was held on December 6, 1938. Commission at the end of this meeting; It was decided to invite Bruno Taut, Rudolf Belling, Léopold Lévy, Henri Prost, Clemens Holzmeister and Hermann Jansen to get their second meeting on December 16, 1938 and to get their opinions. The Council of Ministers decided on 24 December to receive the opinions of this delegation and send the report prepared by the commission to the Assembly Group of Republican People's Party for examination. At the parliamentary group meeting held on January 3, 1939, assigned to review the related report; Falih Rıfkı Atay, Rasih Kaplan, Mazhar Germen, Süreyya Örgeevren, Refet Canıtez, İsmet Eker, Münir Çağıl, Mazhar Müfit Kansu, Necip Ali Küçüka, Nafi Atuf Kansu, Salah Cimcoz, Saim Uzel, Ferit Celal Güven, Tevfik Tarman and Mithat Aydın ' 15-person CHP Anıtkabir Party Group Commission was established. At the first meeting of the commission held on January 5, Münir Çağıl was elected as the chairman of the commission, Ferit Celal Güven as clerk, and Falih Rıfkı Atay, Süreyya Örgeevren and Nafi Atuf Kansu as rapporteurs. Around the Çankaya Mansion, in the Ethnography Museum, Yeşiltepe, Timurlenk (or Hıdırlık) Hill, Youth Park, Ankara Agricultural School, Forest Farm, Departments, Rasattepe and its construction ongoing new report by the commission in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey who study trips hill behind the building, on an MP, the most appropriate place for the construction of the mausoleum that Rasattepe said. In the justification, “When you go up the hill and look at Ankara; the feeling and observation of the presence of a star that falls right in the middle of a charming crescent, one end of which is Dikmen and the other end is Etlik Vineyards. The star qualification is neither far nor very close to every point of the circle. ” statements, explains the reason for the election of Rasattepe.

Rasattepe was a place that was not included in the report prepared by the delegation of experts and was examined by the proposal of the commission member Mithat Aydın. Falih Rıfkı Atay, Salah Cimcoz and Ferit Celal Güven, who took part in the commission, stated that the experts did not come with the proposal of Rasattepe and that the experts refused Rasattepe and that the monumental tomb should be in Çankaya. “Atatürk did not leave Çankaya throughout his life, and Çankaya dominated all over the city; They stated that the War of Independence was inextricably tied to the memories of the establishment and reforms of the state, and that it had all the material and spiritual conditions. ”They suggested the hill with water tanks behind the old mansion in Çankaya.

The report prepared by the commission was discussed at the party's assembly group meeting on January 17. While the places proposed for the construction of the monumental tomb were voted by the party group respectively, the Rasattepe proposal was accepted as a result of these votes.

The first expropriations on the construction site

As part of the land on which the monumental tomb will be built belongs to private individuals, the need to nationalize this land has arisen. This first statement on May 23, 1939 during budget negotiations held in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Prime Minister Refik Saydam came from. Transparent; He explained that he had built maps with cadastral operations in Rasattepe and that the boundaries of the land to be used were determined. In the budget, he stated that for Anıtkabir, a total of 205.000 Turkish lira has been allocated, 45.000 Turkish lira for the expropriation fee, 250.000 Turkish lira for the international project competition. Saydam, who added that the land planned to be expropriated is 287.000 m2, while saying that there are parts of this land that belong to the state, municipality or individuals; He stated that if there is no court case, he foresees the money to be spent for expropriation as 205.000 Turkish lira.

The plan prepared by the Ministry of Interior and regulating the boundaries of the land on which Anıtkabir will be built was completed on 23 June 1939 and approved by the Council of Ministers on 7 July 1939. The commission, which was established under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Undersecretary Vehbi Demirel to deal with expropriation activities, requested the initiation of the expropriation process within the framework of the determined plan with the notification he sent to Ankara Municipality. The announcement published by the municipality on September 9 included the parcel numbers, areas, owners and amounts to be paid for the private parts of the areas to be exploited.

In his speech at the party assembly group meeting on March 26, 1940, Saydam announced that 280.000 m2 of land was abandoned as of that date, but the land was insufficient for Anıtkabir and another 230.000 m2 of land would be exploited. The second Anıtkabir plan, in which the construction land is larger, was completed by the Ministry of Interior on 5 April 1940. According to this plan, the land; 459.845 m2 of which belongs to private persons, 43.135 m2 of roads and green areas, 28.312 m2 of the treasury, 3.044 m2 of schools and outposts of the treasury, 8.521 m2 of which belong to private residents from the previous plan. It was 542.8572 in total. For expropriation, it was planned to pay 886.150 kurus 32 cents. This second plan was approved by the Council of Ministers on April 20. According to the second plan, Ankara Municipality's announcement for the occupants was published on 5 September. In the budget of 1940, the budget allocated for the exploitation of the construction site was increased to 1.000.000 liras.

During the parliamentary talks in November 1944, the Minister of Public Works, Sırrı Day, had expended 542.000 m2 of land for the construction of Anıtkabir, 502.000 m2 of it had been taken from private individuals and expropriated, while 28.000 m2 belonged to the treasury, and 11.500 m2 was He explained that he could not be exploited yet because he was in conflict.

Opening a project competition

The commission responsible for the expropriation of the land on which Anıtkabir, consisting of deputies of the Republican People's Party, will be built, decided to organize an international project competition for Anıtkabir on October 6, 1939. In his speech at the party group meeting on November 21, 1939, Refik Saydam stated that following the completion of the expropriation works in the land where Anıtkabir will be built, an international project competition will be held for the construction of Anıtkabir. In his speech on March 26, 1940, Saydam stated that the competition specifications and technical program were prepared in accordance with the international architects' regulations. With the notification published by the Prime Ministry Anıtkabir Commission on February 18, 1941, it was announced that it was decided to organize a project competition, open to the participation of Turkish and non-Turkish engineers, architects and sculptors, and the applications will end on October 31, 1941. In the following period, the conditions for application to the competition were abolished and the chance of more Turkish architects to apply for the competition was opened. According to the statements used by the Minister of Public Works, Cevdet Kerim İncedayı, at the General Assembly of the Assembly on 25 December 1946, it was firstly planned to open an international competition, but II. A second contest was opened for reasons of low participation due to World War II and unsatisfactory offers.

The competition started on March 1, 1941, due to the reorganization of its specifications due to changing articles. According to the specifications, the jury, consisting of at least three people, would propose three projects to the government for the first place, and the government would choose one of these projects. The owner of the first project would be paid a 3% fee on the control right of the construction and the construction fee, 3.000 lira for the owners of the other two projects proposed by the jury, both of which would be counted as the second, and 1.000 lira for one or more of the other projects. According to the specifications, the approximate cost of the construction should not exceed 3.000.000 liras. The specification indicated the structure of the Hall of Honor, where the sarcophagus would be located, as the center of Anıtkabir, and wanted the Six Arrows to be symbolized in the hall where the sarcophagus was located. Apart from this building, the hall with the special book called the "golden book" and the Atatürk Museum were planned. In front of the monument, there was also a square and the entrance of the main honor. Apart from the main buildings, outbuilding structures such as shelter, parking lot, administration, doorman rooms were also not included in the specification.

The jury members of the competition were not determined until October 1941, the scheduled end date. That month, Ivar Tengbom was chosen as the first jury member. With the decision taken by the Council of Ministers on 25 October, the competition period was extended until March 2, 1942. Later on, two more jury members, Károly Weichinger and Paul Bonatz, were determined. On March 11, 1942, after the end of the competition, Arif Hikmet Holtay, Muammer Çavuşoğlu and Muhlis Sertel were appointed as Turkish jury members, and the total number of jury members reached six.

Determination of the project

To the competition; From Turkey, 25; 11 from Germany; 9 from Italy; A total of 49 projects were sent, one from Austria, Czechoslovakia, France and Switzerland. Since one of these projects reached the commission after the contest period ended, the other was disqualified because the identity of the owner was not written on the project's packaging and evaluation was made on 47 projects. 47 projects were submitted to the jury on March 11, 1942. Paul Bonatz was elected as the chairman of the jury committee, which held its first meeting the next day, and Muammer Çavuşoğlu as the rapporteur. Organizing the first meeting in the Prime Ministry building, the delegation carried out its later works at the Exhibition House. While evaluating, the jury members did not know which project belonged to whom. The 17 projects that applied were eliminated in the first stage on the grounds that they "did not meet the high purpose of the competition". Examining the remaining 30 projects, the delegation prepared a report in which they expressed their views. 19 projects were eliminated for the reasons explained in this report and 11 projects remained for the third review. Completing their work on 21 March, the jury submitted the report containing its evaluation to the Prime Ministry. In the report proposed to the government, projects by Johannes Krüger, Emin Onat, Orhan Arda and Arnaldo Foschini were selected. In the report, it was mentioned that all three projects are not suitable for their direct implementation, they should be re-examined and some changes should be made. Also in the report; Hamit Kemali Söylemezoğlu, Kemal Ahmet Arû and Recai Akçay; Mehmet Ali Handan and Feridun Akozan; Giovanni Muzio; An honorable mention was also proposed for the projects of Roland Rohn and Giuseppe Vaccaro and Gino Franzi. All of the decisions in the report were taken unanimously. On March 22, Parliament Speaker Abdülhalik Renda and Prime Minister Refik Saydam went to the Exhibition House to examine the projects. The summary of the prepared report was shared with the public by the Prime Ministry as a notification on 23 March.

On May 7, the project of Emin Onat and Orhan Arda was selected as the winner of the contest at the Council of Ministers, chaired by President İsmet İnönü. Two other projects proposed by the jury of the competition were considered second, while five projects were awarded with honorable mentions. However, the government decided that no project should be implemented regarding the project it chose first. According to the second clause of the 20th article of the competition specification, the project owners would also be awarded 2 liras. With the declaration published by the government on June 4.000, it was announced that it was decided to implement the project of Onar and Arda after some arrangements. These arrangements would be made by a delegation, which will include project owners. On April 9, 5, the Prime Ministry notified Onat and Arda to prepare a new project within six months in line with the criticism of the jury.

Changes to the designated project

Onat and Arda made some changes in their projects in line with the jury report. In the first project, the monumental tomb, which is located in the middle of Rasattepe, was entered through an axis with stairs that extends to the skirts of the hill in the direction of Ankara Castle. There was a meeting area between the stairs and the mausoleum. The jury committee report suggested that the road reaching the monument should be a free road, not a ladder. In line with this recommendation, the roadway was lifted around the hill with a slope of approximately 5% for the part that provided access to the monument area by removing the stairs in the project. With this change, the entrance was taken in the direction of Tandogan Square from the stairs leading to Gazi Mustafa Kemal Boulevard. This road reached the north of the mausoleum. For the Hall of Honor at the entrance of the monumental tomb, a 350 m long alle was planned on the ridge of the hill, using an area extending 180 m in the west-north direction. Architects were aiming to disconnect the visitors from the city panorama by using cypress. It was planned to climb the two guard towers at the beginning of the Allen by 4 m high stairs. With these changes made in the project, Anıtkabir was divided into two as the ceremonial square and alle.

In the initial form of the project, there were approximately 3000 m long surrounding walls surrounding the mausoleum. It was stated in the jury report that it would be better to simplify these walls. Since the entrance road was taken to the top of the hill and integrated with the monumental tomb, the architects aimed to remove these walls and turn the park around the monumental tomb into a public garden. The section, where the sarcophagus and the tomb are located, called the Hall of Honor, was located approximately in the middle of Rasattepe. The direction of the monument was changed by pulling the monumental grave as far as possible towards the east-north border. By placing the monumental grave on the front ridge erected by the plinth walls, the architects aimed to separate the monumental grave from the daily life and environment and take a more monumental shape with the pedestal walls surrounding the hill. While one of the axes where the mausoleum was placed and intersecting each other vertically, opens towards Çankaya in the northwest-southeast direction on the entrance allele; the other stretched out to Ankara Castle.

One of the changes made in the project was that the ceremonial square reached with alle was separated into two squares of 90 × 150 m and 47 × 70 m dimensions. While there were towers on the four corners of the big square, the small square, which is located high above this square and surrounded by museums on the one hand, and administrative buildings on the other, was reached to the monumental grave with stairs in the middle.

According to the first project, there was a second mass on the monumental grave with reliefs on its outer walls, reviving the War of Independence and Atatürk Revolutions. In the jury report, the entrance and administration parts of the ground floor of the monumental tomb, the museum entrance, the rooms belonging to the security continent; On the first floor, it was stated that museums, resting halls, and golden book halls were located and it was inappropriate to have the surroundings of the main monument filled with a lot of items. With the changes made, the museums and administrative parts inside the monumental tomb were removed from here and the monument was taken outside the tomb. The sarcophagus, located in the middle of the Hall of Honor in the first project, was brought up in front of a window, which was elevated by steps and opened to the east-north direction of the building, overlooking the Ankara Castle. Again, in the first project, in order to give the Hall of Honor a more spiritual atmosphere, the holes drilled in the ceiling, which is required to illuminate the part of the sarcophagus and leave the other parts dim, were removed with the changes.

In the letter sent by the Prime Ministry to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Works on October 27, 1943, an expert representative was requested from both ministries to study with the new project prepared by Onat and Arda and to prepare a report on this. The Ministry of Public Works proposed the Chief of Construction and Reconstruction Works Sırrı Sayarı on November 2, and the Ministry of Education proposed Sedad Hakkı Eldem, Chief of the Architecture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in his article dated November 5. The second project and the model of the project prepared by the architects was delivered to the Prime Ministry Anıtkabir Commission on 8 November 1943. The commission reviewing this new project on November 12; He stated that a covering system that would fit the long rectangular form of the monumental tomb, where museums and administrative buildings were built, would be studied instead of a dome, and one square would be more architecturally appropriate than two ceremonial squares. President İsmet İnönü reviewed the project on 17 November, and the Council of Ministers reviewed the project and commission report on 18 November. The committee decided to implement the project after the changes in the report were fulfilled by Onat and Arda. The task of carrying out the construction of Anıtkabir was assigned to the Ministry of Public Works on 20 November. Prime Minister Şükrü Saracoğlu said that the architects will finish the changes on the project in two months and that the construction will begin in the spring of 1944.

After the decision of the Council of Ministers, Onat and Arda made some changes in their projects and created a third project. The ceremony square in two parts was combined and; The museum was converted into a single square surrounded by buildings from the reception hall, administrative and military departments. The 180 m long alle has been increased to 220 m and made to cut the ceremony square upright. The mock-up of this new project was exhibited at the Cumhuriyet Public Works Exhibition, which opened on April 9, 1944. With the agreement signed with Onat and Arda on July 4, 1944, the implementation phase of the project started.

Groundbreaking and the first part of construction

The Ministry of Public Works, which prepared a program for construction work in August 1944, planned to complete the construction until the 1947th Republican People's Party Ordinary Congress. 7 TL was allocated to the Ministry of Public Works for construction. Nurhayr Company, owned by Hayri Kayadelen, won the tender for the first part of the construction, which was carried out by the Ministry on September 1.000.000, 4 and covers the leveling works on the construction site. Prime Minister, ministers, civil and military bureaucrats took part in the groundbreaking ceremony of Anıtkabir on October 1944, 9. On October 1944, a draft law was prepared by the government asking for allowance for the construction of Anıtkabir. According to the draft submitted to the parliament by the Prime Ministry on 12 November, the Ministry of Public Works was given the right to enter temporary commitments up to 1 liras for the period between 1945 and 1949, provided that it does not exceed 2.500.000 liras each year. The draft law, which was discussed and accepted by the Parliamentary Budget Committee on 10.000.000 November, was adopted at the General Assembly of the Parliament on 18 November. The Law No 22 on the Construction of Atatürk Anıtkabir was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey on 4677 December 4.

While the construction and reconstruction works of the Ministry of Public Works were undertaking the control and engineering services of the construction, it was decided that Orhan Arda would be on duty for the control of the construction at the end of May 1945 and remain at the beginning of the construction. Although Ekrem Demirtaş was appointed as the control supervisor of the construction, Sabiha Gürayman was replaced by Demirtaş's departure on 29 December 1945. 1945 lira was paid for the first part of the construction, which was completed at the end of 900.000, covering soil leveling works and the construction of allen retaining walls. During the construction, the observatory in Rasattepe was also used as a building site.

Archaeological finds during construction

Rasattepe was a tumulus area locally known as Beştepeler. During the construction of Anıtkabir, excavations were carried out by the Turkish History Institution while dealing with the tumuli that had to be removed during the land arrangements, while the Ministry of National Education General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums and the Directorate of Archeology Museum. Excavations under the supervision of a delegation consisting of Tahsin Özgüç, a faculty member of Ankara University Faculty of Languages ​​and History-Geography, Mahmut Akok, one of the Turkish History Institution archaeologists, and Nezih Fıratlı, the Director of the Istanbul Archeology Museums, began on July 1, 1945 and was completed on July 20.

It was determined that both tumuli in the construction site were from the Phrygian period dating back to the 8th century BC. One of them was a pile of 8,5 m high, 50 m radius, and a monumental tomb with a juniper chest of 2,5 mx 3,5 m in size. The other one is 2 m high and its diameter was 20-25 m. There was a stone burial pit measuring 4,80 mx 3,80 m in this tumulus. During the excavations, some items were also found inside the burial chambers. The excavation showed that the area was in a necropolis area during the Phrygian period.

Tender of the second part of the construction and the start of the second part construction

For the tender of the second part of the construction, the 10.000.000 TL bidding document prepared under the supervision of Emin Onat was brought to Ankara on May 12, 1945 and submitted to the approval of the Directorate of Construction and Reconstruction Works after the control of the control chief Ekrem Demirtaş. Prior to the tender, on 16 July 1945, the Ministry of Public Works requested the government to sign contracts on a variable price basis. This authority was given by the Council of Ministers on August 23, 1945. The tender was held on August 18, 1945, by a reduction method, and the company named Rar Türk won the tender with a discount of 9.751.240,72% over the discovery amount of 21,66 pounds. A contract was signed between the ministry and the company on September 20, 1945. [58] While the start of the construction of Anıtkabir was delayed due to the preparation of the ground survey, changing the foundation system, making reinforced concrete and static calculations and the payment of these calculations, the foundation construction started in the construction season of 1947. Upon the request of the Ministry of Public Works, Ankara Governor's Office allocated to Rar Türk that there will be four sands and pebbles in the bed of Esenkent, Sincanköy and Çubuk Creek for use in construction until the end of 1949. On November 4, 1945, 35 tons of 14 and 18 mm reinforcements were sent from Karabük Iron and Steel Factory for construction. With the letter of the Directorate of Construction and Reconstruction, dated 11 November 1947, the cement to be used in construction was also allowed to be sent to Rar Türk by the Sivas Cement Factory.

In line with the proposal of the Anıtkabir project contest jury “to use cut stones of lighter color than the soil color”, as of 1944, stone extraction and preparation was started from the quarries in Eskipazar. According to the contract for the second part of the construction, the travertine stone extracted from Eskipazar would be used. Çankırı Governorate licensed Rar Türk to extract yellow travertine from these quarries on October 31, 1945. The travertines removed from here were examined at Istanbul Technical University and according to the report dated April 25, 1947, no problems were detected in the stones. In the letter dated November 3, 1948 sent by the Construction Contractor to the Directorate of Construction and Reconstruction Works, it is stated that the travertine stones have holes in them and holes in the travertines that do not show holes on the surface, and the holes in the contract with Rar Türk will not be used. It was stated to be contrary. After this, in the report prepared after Erwin Lahn, who was sent to Eskipazar after he examined the situation on the spot, the Directorate of Construction and Zoning Affairs was valid for the travertines whose structure or appearance was impaired, since the travertine stated that the travertine was perforated due to its nature and that no abnormal condition was observed in the stones. He decided that it should be. The stones and marbles to be used in the construction of Anıtkabir were brought from various parts of the country. Due to the lack of a sufficient stone industry for construction, quarries were searched across the country, and while the quarries were opened, roads were built in places where the quarries were located, workers to work in the quarries were trained, the stones were moved from the quarries to Anıtkabir construction site and the necessary machinery was imported for cutting these stones.

Soil investigation studies

On December 18, the Ministry of Public Works decided to study the land on which Anıtkabir will be built in terms of earthquake and ground mechanics. Hamdi Peynircioğlu won the tender, which was opened by the Ministry of Public Works, Department of Construction Affairs on 23 January 1945 for the investigation of the land in this context. Within the scope of the ground survey studies started on January 26, in accordance with the tender specifications, an inspection well and two drilling wells were opened by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration. Malik Sayar examined the geological formation of the land. Peynircioğlu presented the report he prepared after his studies on May 24, 20. An analysis report containing the chemical properties of soil and groundwater was delivered on December 1945, 1. [1945] In the report; It was stated that there was a layer of clay under the ground, 62 cm1 of which was 2 kg, and there was a rock layer with a depth of 3,7 m, and cavities in the form of galleries, 155-1 m wide, 1,5–1 m high and 2–6 m deep. During the construction of Anıtkabir, it was calculated that the building will be buried in a total of 10 cm of soil, 46 cm and 20-30 years after construction. It was stated that the raft foundation planned to be applied in the building is inappropriate for this floor structure and another foundation system should be applied. The Ministry of Public Works has decided to build Anıtkabir, which is planned to be built on a reinforced concrete foundation of 42 m thickness and 88 m2,5, on a rigid reinforced concrete beam plate with dimensions of 4.200 x 2 m as stated in the report.

The changes desired to be made in the project after the ground survey report led to a legal process. According to the specifications of the Anıtkabir project contest, it was decided to pay 3% of the total construction cost to the project owners and the possible construction cost was determined as 3.000.000 liras. However, in 1944, the possible price was determined as 10.000.000 liras. After the contract signed after the negotiations between Onat and Arda and the ministry, it was agreed that the architects will charge 3.000.000% of the construction price up to 3 liras and 7.000.000% of the remaining 2 liras. In addition, they would also receive a fee of 1,75% per cubic meter of reinforced concrete for bilateral, reinforced concrete and static calculations. However, on the basis of Article 18 of the competition specifications, the Court of Accounts did not register the contract, stating that the reinforced concrete and static calculations of the building were among the duties of the architects. After negotiations between the Ministry and the architects, the architects agreed to carry out their reinforced concrete and static calculations without any fee, and agreed with an engineering company in Istanbul for 7.500 lira to do these calculations. With the decision to prepare the ground survey report, the calculations were paused.

After the study, the ministry requested that these calculations be made again. In their petitions dated December 17, 1945, the architects stated that the calculations to be made according to the new foundation system cost more and their financial means are not sufficient to meet this. Upon this, the ministry informed the State Council with a letter dated 18 December 1945. On January 17, 1946, the Council of State agreed to sign an additional contract for the architects to be offered additional payments due to the change of the basic system of the building. Upon this decision, the architects made some changes on the basis of the project in line with the decisions taken at the meetings held on 12 and 13 February 1946 in order to examine the foundation and construction status of Anıtkabir. With the changes, the monumental tomb would be built on a reinforced concrete part separated by arched partitions instead of the foundation on the ground floor. Although the Ministry wanted to cover the expenses of these calculations from the appropriation allocated for Rar Türk, whose contract was signed for the construction of the second part of the Anıtkabir construction, the Court of Accounts did not allow payment for reinforced concrete and static accounts, stating that the allowance put into the budget cannot be spent on other services in accordance with the 10th item of the contract signed with the company. . Consequently, the Council of State, which the ministry, which created an additional contract regulating the related article of the contract signed with Rar Türk, applied on 27 May 1946 for the approval of this contract, approved the additional contract on 8 July 1946. The additional contract was sent to the Ministry of Finance on October 24, 1946 for review and execution. On the same date, the Ministry of Public Works sent the additional contract to be made with Onat and Arda regarding the reinforced concrete and static calculations to the Ministry of Finance. After the review of the Ministry of Finance, both additional contracts were approved by President İnönü on December 19, 1946.

Problems after ground survey and third expropriations on the construction site

Until January 1946, Rar Türk had shipped various construction materials to the construction site. However, after it was decided to change the foundation system after the ground study, Rar Türk demanded a price difference from the Ministry of Public Works, stating that they were harmed by purchasing more concrete and iron than needed in the modified project. The Ministry deemed this request appropriate and prepared an additional contract for the payment of 240.000 liras, and submitted it to the Council of State for review. Upon the decision of the Council of State not approving the additional agreement, the Minister of Public Works Cevdet Kerim İncedayı reconsidered the additional agreement at the Assembly of the General Assembly on 17 June 1947, stating that the decision of the Council of State would damage the company and the government would suffer an estimated 1,5 million liras if the contract was terminated by remaining unprocessed. he sent to the State Council. On 7 July 1947, it was decided by the Council of State that it was not possible to pay the price difference requested by the company since the administration was authorized to make any modifications on the project. Following this decision, the ministry requested Rar Türk on 16 July 1947 to give the work program within the required conditions; however, the company stated in its letter dated July 28, 1947 that the work to be done by repeating its claim is more than 20% of the tender price and therefore it is not possible to complete the planned works within the period of the work program. The Ministry, on the other hand, claimed that the works it communicated on June 21, 1946 were within the tender price, based on the third article of the specification. The ministry, which found the claims of Rar Türk unfounded, stated that if the work program is not given within ten days and the work does not reach the desired level within twenty days, it will take legal action pursuant to the notification of 16 July 1947.

The third expropriation decision for the construction site was taken by the Council of Ministers on 27 June 1947 and it was determined that the land of 129.848 m2 should be expropriated. Later, another 23.422 m2 was added to this. However, since the land which was decided to be expropriated in 1947, 65.120 m2 of land belonging to private individuals could not be exploited until 1950, it was decided to remove these lands from the expropriation plan on September 21, 1950. Noting that the construction of Anıtkabir was carried out on 569.965 m2 land until that date, 43.135 m2 of this land was taken from the municipality, 446.007 m2 from private individuals and 53.715 m2 from the treasury, according to the statement of the Minister of Public Works Fahri Belen; He explained that 309 lira was paid in return for 1.018.856 parcels owned by private individuals and the total money spent for Anıtkabir land was 1.175.927 lira.

In an interview on 27 November 1947, Emin Onat; He stated that the earth excavation of the Anıtkabir construction, the lower concrete and insulation of the monumental grave part, the foundations of the military part, the ground floor reinforced concrete, the reinforced concrete part of the stairs of the entrance section has been completed. [68] The Ministry of Public Works spent 1946 lira in 1.791.872 for the construction of Anitkabir, while in 1947 this amount was 452.801 lira. With the amendment made in the Budget Law of 1947, 2 million liras of the Anıtkabir construction allowance was transferred to the Ministry of National Defense.

Construction begins again and disputes are resolved

Newspapers dated May 15, 1948 wrote that the dispute between Rar Türk and the ministry was resolved and construction started again. After the construction started again, students of Ankara University's High Demand Union, who obtained permission from the authorities to work in the construction, also worked for a certain period of time from 17 May 1948. [69] The Minister of Public Works Nihat Erim, who visited the construction on July 30, 1948, said that by the end of 1948, the reinforced concrete foundation, allen, guard towers and military part of the monumental tomb would be completed; auxiliary buildings will be started; gardening and afforestation works will continue; In 1949, he announced that with the completion of the intermediate floor of the mausoleum and auxiliary buildings, 10 million liras would be spent. He stated that for the remaining works of the construction, 14 million lira would be needed. On February 26, 1949, Minister of Public Works Şevket Adalan said that the construction will be completed in three years.

According to the information in Ulus newspaper dated November 10, 1949, the construction of two entrance towers at the head of the alle and allen was completed and 24 lion sculptures made of marble were planned on both sides of the road. The rough construction of the 650 m2 section to be used by the guard company was completed and the roof covering started to be made. While the reinforced concrete foundation and flooring works of the 84 m colonate opposite the monumental tomb and the stone coating of the exterior are completed; The construction of the stone columns and arches at the top was ongoing. With the foundation of the administration and museum buildings, the reinforced concrete floors of the intermediate floor were completed. The reinforced concrete foundation of the monumental grave with a height of 11 m and the 3.500 m2 reinforced concrete floor above this foundation were also finished. The mezzanine walls, which consist of various stones, vaults and arches that start from the foundation and fall under the hall of honor, were raised up to 2 m. 11 m walls were built next to the monumental grave foundation and 1.000 m of the yellow stone walls were completed, while the iron installation of the mezzanine columns began. [70] For construction, 1948 pounds were spent in 2.413.088 and 1949 pounds in 2.721.905. A total of 1946 lira was spent for the construction of Anitkabir second part, completed between 1949-6.370.668.

The Prime Ministry submitted the law regulating an additional appropriation of 4677 lira for construction to the parliament on February 10.000.000, 1950, since the 14.000.000 lira appropriation for construction was exhausted by the Law No 1 on the Construction of Ataturk Anitkabir. In the letter of the law proposal, the condition of the construction and the things to be done until the end of 1950 were written. According to this article, the construction of the monumental grave foundation was completely completed, and it was stated that until the end of the year, the construction of the monumental grave and the auxiliary buildings from the auxiliary buildings to the roof of the soldiers, mezzanine and administration buildings, the construction of the museum acceptance sections up to the first floor, the alle and entrance towers will be completed. Then, the expropriation of the 1950 m65.000 area, the construction of the upper part from the intermediate floor in the mausoleum, the completion of the rough construction of the auxiliary buildings, all kinds of coating, joinery, installation and decoration works and the flooring of the buildings, soil works of the park, retaining walls, afforestation of the roads and all kinds It was stated that the system will be replenished. The draft law, which was accepted by the Parliament Public Works Commission on February 2, 4 and sent to the budget commission, was accepted here on February 1950 and sent to the General Assembly of the Assembly. The draft, which was discussed and accepted at the General Assembly of the Assembly on 16 March, entered into force by being published in the Official Gazette on 1 March.

In the letter sent by the Minister of Public Works, Şevket Adalan to the Prime Ministry on April 3, 1950, the foundation and intermediate floor of the monumental tomb and other buildings were about to be completed until the roof, the third part of the tender will be put into tender for construction and therefore reliefs, statues, Anitkabir It was reported that the articles to be written and the items to be included in the museum section should be determined. In his article, Adalan suggested that a commission consisting of the members of the Ministry of National Education, Ankara University and the Turkish Historical Society, and the representative of the Ministry of Public Works and project architects, be established in order to carry out the works at the next stage. In line with this proposal, the commission consisting of Ekrem Akurgal from Ankara University, Halil Demircioğlu from the Turkish Historical Society, Selahattin Onat, Head of Construction and Reconstruction Affairs, and the construction chief Sabiha Gürayman and the project architect Orhan Arda, held its first meeting on May 3, 1950. . In this meeting, after examining the construction site; There are more representatives from Ankara University Turkish Revolution History Institute, Istanbul University Faculty of Letters and Istanbul Technical University, two representatives from the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts, as well as three thinkers who have close interest with the Atatürk Revolutions. It was decided to be handled by a commission. However, the targeted commission meeting remained after the general elections held on May 14, 1950.

Saving changes in the project with the change of power

After the elections, for the first time since the Republic's proclamation in 1923, a party other than the Republican People's Party came to power. President Celâl Bayar, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and Public Works Minister Fahri Belen visited Anıtkabir construction on June 6, 6, 1950 days after the government received the vote of confidence in the parliament. During this visit, architects and engineers stated that the construction will end in 1952 at the earliest. Following the visit, a commission was established under the presidency of Belen, which aims to finalize the construction, with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works, Muammer Çavuşoğlu, Paul Bonatz, Sedad Hakkı Eldem, Emin Onat and Orhan Arda. Menderes, in his statement, suggested that the lands previously decided to be used will not be used, so that 6-7 million lira will be saved and that the construction will be completed in a few months because the construction progresses more quickly. In order to complete the construction faster and save costs, some changes were made to the project. In August 1950, the Ministry of Public Works officials planned to make the section on the sarcophagus building completely open and without colonnade. On the other hand, the report prepared by the commission was sent to the authorities on 20 November 1950. In the report where three options are evaluated to reduce the cost; It was stated that the construction of the monumental grave part was made in order to reduce the construction cost and it was inappropriate to make only the outer columns and beams of the monumental grave. In this context, it was proposed to remove the part of the mausoleum rising above the colonate. This proposed change in exterior architecture led to some changes in the interior architecture. Instead of a vaulted and covered hall of honor, it was suggested that the sarcophagus was exposed, and the main tomb was somewhere in the ground and in the ground one floor below the platform where the sarcophagus was located. The report submitted by the Ministry of Public Works to the approval of the Council of Ministers on 27 November 1950 was adopted at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 29 November 1950. At the press conference held by the Minister of Public Works Kemal Zeytinoğlu on December 30, 1950, it was stated that the project will be completed two years earlier in November 1952 and the construction and expropriation cost will be saved approximately 7.000.000 liras.

For the purpose of resolving the dispute with Rar Türk, the Ministry of Public Works asked for his opinion regarding an additional contract with Rar Türk in his letter sent to the Ministry of Finance on 21 July 1950. Following the positive response from the Ministry of Finance, upon the proposal of the Ministry of Public Works, it was decided to sign an additional contract at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 21 September 1950. Upon this decision, the company received an additional payment of R3.420.584 Türk to XNUMX lira.

The construction of the intermediate floor of the monumental tomb building where the sarcophagus is located was completed at the end of 1950. In March 1951, the foundation concrete construction of the monumental tomb building was completed and the construction of the entrances connecting the auxiliary buildings started. In a press release on April 18, 1951, Kemal Zeytinoğlu reiterated his statement that the construction will be completed by the end of 1952, while Emin Onat gave this date as 1953. In the same statement, the ceiling has been changed once more when Onat stated that the ceiling of the mausoleum will be constructed closed and the ceiling will be decorated with gilding. While the height of the monumental tomb, which is 35 m, was changed to 28 m, the second floor consisting of four walls was dropped to 17 m. The stone vaulted dome of the Hall of Honor was replaced and a reinforced concrete dome was used. On the grounds of the draft law on the exemption of works belonging to the construction of Anıtkabir from the provisions of Article 135 of the Tender Law, it was stated that the construction will be completed on November 10, 1951 after the change in the project. In the Budget Commission report of the same law dated 16 May 1951, it was stated that with this amendment, 6 million lira was saved in the construction and the construction will be completed in November 1952. In his speech on November 1, 1951, Celâl Bayar and in his speech on January 15, 1952, Kemal Zeytinoğlu; said the construction will be completed in November 1952. A total budget of 1944 million lira was allocated for construction, 10 million in 1950 and 14 million lira in 24.

The tender of the third part of the construction and the construction of the third part

While the construction of the second part was going on, Aim Ticaret won the tender for the construction of the third part on 11 September 1950, with a cost of 2.381.987 TL. The third part included construction, roads leading to Anıtkabir, the stone paving works of the Aslanlı Yol and the ceremonial area, the stone pavement of the upper floor of the monumental tomb building, the steps of the stairs, the replacement of the sarcophagus and the installation works. The red stones used in the ceremony area were brought from the quarry in Boğazköprü and the black stones in the Kumarlı area. At the beginning of the construction season of 1951, while the roofs of the guard, reception, honor and museum halls covering the auxiliary buildings of Anıtkabir started to be closed, the last details on the Lion Road were made. After the permission obtained with the letter dated August 3, 1951, 100 tons of lead plates imported from Germany were used to cover the roofs of the memorial tomb and the auxiliary buildings.

Tender and construction of the fourth part of the construction

Rar Türk, Aim Ticaret and Muzaffer Budak participated in the tender of the fourth and final part of the construction, which was held on June 6, 1951. The tender was won by Muzaffer Budak's company, which made a discount of 3.090.194% over the discovery price of 11,65 lira. The fourth part is construction; The flooring of the Hall of Honor included the lower floors of the vaults, the stone profiles around the Hall of Honor, the eaves decorations and the construction of marble works. Beige travertines brought from Kayseri were used with the acceptance of the proposal to bring lento stones to be built on the columns of the monumental grave in the petition submitted to the Ministry of Public Works on July 24, 1951 by the travertine quarries in Eskipazar. These stones are also; stair steps flooring, ceremony area and Aslanli Road were also preferred. Construction; Green marble brought from Bilecik, red marble brought from Hatay, tiger skin marble brought from Afyonkarahisar, cream marble brought from Çanakkale, black marble brought from Adana, and white travertines brought from Haymana and Polatlı. The marble used in the sarcophagus was brought from the Gavur Mountains in Bahçe.

Identification and application of sculptures, reliefs and writings

The commission, which was established on the determination of reliefs, sculptures, writings to be written in Anıtkabir and items to be found in the museum section, held its first meeting on May 3, 1950 and decided that more members were needed, and held its second meeting on August 31, 1951. In this meeting, it was decided to select the subjects of the sculptures, reliefs and writings to be put in Anıtkabir by considering the life and movements of Atatürk from the War of Independence and the Atatürk Revolutions. It was decided to establish a subcommittee formed by Enver Ziya Karal, Afet Inan, Mükerrem Kamil Su, Faik Reşit Unat and Enver Behnan Challo to select the articles. On the other hand, the commission stating that it did not see the authority to give the commands to the artists about the sculptures and reliefs; For the determination of these, it decided to establish a subcommittee consisting of Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Ekrem Akurgal, Rudolf Belling, Hamit Kemali Söylemezoğlu, Emin Onat and Orhan Arda.

At the meeting, which was held on September 1, 1951, which also included new members; He asked that the sculptures and reliefs that will take place in Anıtkabir should be suitable for the architecture of the building, there were no repetitive works as the desired subject, and they should be “monumental and representative works”. While determining the subjects of the works, artists were directed in terms of style. At the beginning of Allenin, it was decided to make a sculpture group or relief on two bases to "prepare those who respect Atatürk and the monument to his spiritual presence." These works were intended to “complement the calm and calm atmosphere, to express the thought of Atatürk's death or eternity, and the deep suffering of the generations that Atatürk saved and raised,”. It was decided to have 24 lion sculptures in both sitting and lying positions that "inspire strength and calm" on both sides of the Allen. It was determined to embroider a relief composition on each side of the staircase leading to the monumental grave, one representing the Sakarya Square Battle and the other the Commander-in-Chief Square Battle, and a relief on Ataturk Revolutions on the side walls of the Hall of Honor. It was decided to write “Address to Youth” on one side of the entrance door of the monumental tomb and “Tenth Year Speech” on the other side. The ten towers in Anıtkabir were given the names Hürriyet, İstiklâl, Mehmetçik, Zafer, Müdafaa-ı Hukuk, Cumhuriyet, Barış, April 23, Misak-ı Milliî and İnkılâp and it was decided to select the reliefs and towers to be made according to the names of the towers.

Sub-commission responsible for determining the texts of the articles to be included in Anıtkabir; Following his meetings on 14, 17 and 24 December 1951, he prepared a report containing his decisions at his meeting on 7 January 1952. The commission decided that only the words of Atatürk should be included in the texts to be written. It was determined that the articles to be written on the towers were selected according to the tower names. According to the project, the Mausoleum of Ataturk on the window behind the sarcophagus "will one day my mortal body certainly my land, but the Republic of Turkey will stand forever" written mention of planning; the commission did not make a decision in this direction.

A contest open to the participation of Turkish artists was held for 19 sculptures and reliefs, the subject of which was determined. According to the specification prepared for reliefs before the start of the competition; The depth of the reliefs outside the towers will be 3 cm from the stone surface and 10 cm inside the tower, and models made of plaster will be processed in accordance with the stone technique. The jury created for the competition Building and Reconstruction Affairs Chairman Selahattin Onat literature teacher from the Ministry of Education Ahmet Kutsi Tecer, Istanbul Technical University, Paul Faculty of Architecture Bonatz, Academy of Fine Arts Belling Rudolf Sculpture Department, the Turkish Union of Artists of the painter Mahmut Cuda, Turkey architect of the Engineers Union and engineer Mukbil Gökdoğan, architects Bahaettin Rahmi Bediz from the Turkish Association of Architects, and Emin Onat and Anitkabir architects Emin Onat and Orhan Arda. The competition, in which 173 works were sent, ended on 19 January 1952. According to the results announced on January 26, 1952, the statues of women and men in the entrance and the lion statues in the alley were made by Hüseyin Anka Özkan; The relief on the Battle of Sakarya Square to the right of the stairs leading to the monumental tomb is the relief of İlhan Koman, on the left of the Commander-in-Chief Battle, and the reliefs of İstiklâl, Mehmetçik and Hürriyet towers; Kenan Yontunç's relief under the rhetoric and the flagpole; While Nusret Suman decided to make the reliefs in Revolution, Peace, Defense and Legal and Misak-ı Milli towers; As there was no work worthy of the first place for the relief of the April 23 Tower, the work of the second Hakkı Atamulu was applied. As for the Republic and Victory towers, there is no work that “represents the subject successfully”, relief was given to these towers. At the meeting on September 1, 1951, the construction of the reliefs, which were determined to be made on the side walls of the Hall of Honor, where the sarcophagus was located, was abandoned on the grounds that there were no works representing the subject successfully.

On August 8, 1952, the Council of Ministers authorized the Construction and Reconstruction Works Reduction Commission to negotiate various sizes of models for the winners of the competition. On 26 August 1952, it was decided to launch an international tender open to the participation of the "well-known companies in this field" by the Turkish artists who have received degrees in the competition and the member countries of the European Economic Cooperation Organization. While Italy-based MARMI won the tender, Nusret Suman, who will make some reliefs, became the company's subcontractor.

A contract was signed with Hüseyin Özkan on 8 October 1952 for sculpture groups and lion sculptures. On June 29, 1953, the 1: 1 scale models of the sculptures were checked and accepted by the jury, while female and male sculptural group sculptures were installed in their places on September 5, 1953. Reliefs on Mudafaa-ı Hukuk, Barış, Misak-ı Milli and İnkılap were prepared on July 1, 1952. Models of these works were accepted by the jury on November 21, 1952. Relief in the Defense Tower, Nusret Suman; Reliefs in Barış, Misak-ı Milli and İnkılap towers were applied by MARMI. Zühtü Müridoğlu, who made the Battle of Istiklâl, Hürriyet and Mehmetçik towers and the Commander-in-Chief Battle, reported that the reliefs of the towers could be delivered until 29 May 1953. The board, which consists of Belling, Arda and Onat, which controls the sculptures and reliefs, will send the relief of Mehmetçik Tower to Ankara in the report dated 11 July 1953, and the second half of the relief about the battle will be completed approximately three weeks later. He sent the Ministry of Public Works to be sent. A contract was signed between the Ministry and İlhan Koman on 6 October 1952 for relief on the Battle of Sakarya Square. Koman sent the first half of the relief to Ankara on 28 May 1953, and completed the second part on 15 July 1953. On 23 December 10, a contract was signed between the ministry and Hakkı Atamulu for the relief on the April 1952 Tower. The jury accepted the models of relief and oratory decorations on the flag base prepared by Kenan Yontunç on 7 May 1952.

Examining the relief applied outside of the Defense Tower, on June 29, 1953, the board consisting of Belling, Arda and Onat stated that the relief was "not able to show the expected effect" in the exterior architecture of the monument and said that the reliefs were made to a close degree. After this relief, it was decided that the reliefs to be made on the outer surface of the Hürriyet, İstiklâl, Mehmetçik, 23 Nisan and Misak-ı Milli national towers were to be made inside the towers and by Italian experts. However, it was decided to apply Nusret Suman with the relief on the flagpole base and the oratory tribune. Apart from the Defense Tower, only relief was applied to the outer surface of the Mehmetçik Tower. The correction of some errors and changes in fine works during the sculpting and relief applications made by MARMI was carried out between April and May 1954.

On June 4, 1953, it was decided by the government to open an international tender open to the application of companies, members of the European Economic Cooperation Organization and Turkish artists, for the writing of the words specified in the commission report. Emin Barın won the tender held by the Directorate of Construction and Reconstruction Affairs on 17 July 1953. The texts of "Address to Youth" and "Tenth Year Speech" at the entrance of the monumental grave were covered with gold leaf by Sabri İrte. The writings in Müdafaa-ı Hukuk, Misak-ı Milli, Barış and Nisan 23 towers were carved on marble panels, while those in other towers were carved on the travertine walls.

Identification and implementation of mosaic, frescoes and other details

No competition has been opened to determine the mosaic motifs to be used in Anıtkabir. Project architects assigned Nezih Eldem to deal with mosaics. In the monumental tomb building; Mosaic decorations were used on the ceiling of the entrance hall of the Hall of Honor, on the ceiling of Hall of Fame, on the ceiling of the sarcophagus, on the surface of the cross vaults covering the side galleries, in the octagonal burial chamber and in the arch mirrors on the upper parts of the windows of the towers. Eldem designed all of the mosaic ornaments in Anıtkabir, except for the mosaics in the middle section of Hall of Honor. For the selection of mosaic motifs to be placed on the ceiling of the Hall of Honor, a composition was created by combining eleven motifs taken from the 15th and 16th century Turkish carpets and rugs at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. Due to the mosaic decorations implementation in Turkey it could not be made at that time the Ministry of Public Works in October 1951, the company engaged in the mosaic work in the country in writing sent to the ambassadors of European countries had requested to be notified. On February 6, 1952, the Council of Ministers decided to open a tender for mosaic decoration applications. Before the tender of the mosaic works, it was decided to use the mosaics of the Italian company on 1 March 1952 after the examinations on the mosaic samples taken from German and Italian companies. Nezih Eldem, who was sent to Italy for mosaic applications and stayed here for about 2,5 years, made a 1: 1 scale drawing of all mosaics here. According to the drawings, the assembly of the mosaics produced in Italy and sent to Ankara piece by piece started on July 22, 1952 and continued until November 10, 1953. At the end of these studies, the area of ​​1644 m2 was covered with mosaic.

In addition to the mosaics, the columns surrounding the monumental tomb, the porches located in front of the auxiliary buildings and the decorations on the ceilings of the towers were made in fresco technique. Tarık Levendoğlu won the tender for the construction of the frescoes, which was opened on March 84.260, 27, with a cost of 1953 lira. In the specification of the contract, signed on 11 April 1953, it was stated that the fresco motifs would be given by the administration. Fresco works started on April 30, 1953. While the porticoes of the side buildings were finished on July 1, 1953 and the columns of the Hall of Honor on August 5, 1953; All fresco works were completed on November 10, 1953. On September 11, 1954, a tender was launched for the dry fresco works and iron stairs work of the monumental tomb building.

On the floor of the ceremony area, the rug motif created with various colors of travertines was used. Where the outer walls of the Towers and Hall of Fame meet with the roof, borders surrounding the building from four places were made. Travertine buns were added to the buildings and towers surrounding the ceremony square to drain rainwater. In addition to various traditional Turkish motifs, the bird palace was applied on the tower walls. 12 stella torches in the Hall of Honor were made in the workshops of Ankara Technical Teacher School. According to the main project, six torches representing the Six Arrows in Hall of Honor were raised to twelve during the Democratic Party period. The Hall of Honor door and the window behind the sarcophagus, and all the door and window bars were built. For bronze doors and fences, it was first agreed with a Germany-based company, but on February 26, 1953, a contract was signed with an Italian-based company for the production and delivery of all bars, on the grounds of "progress of the business as expected." Their assembly was carried out after April 359.900.

Landscape and afforestation works

Before the construction of Anıtkabir, Rasattepe was a barren land without trees. Before the foundation of the construction was laid, in August 1944, 80.000 pounds of water installation works were carried out in order to ensure afforestation of the region. Landscape planning of Anıtkabir and its surroundings started in 1946 under the leadership of Sadri Aran. According to the landscape project shaped in line with Bonatz's suggestions; By adopting Rasattepe center where Anıtkabir is located, starting from its skirts, a green belt will be formed by afforesting the surroundings of the hill, and there will be some university and cultural buildings in this zone. According to the plan, the high and large volumes of green trees on the skirts were shortened and shrunk as the monument approached, and their colors deteriorated and “faded in front of the monumental structure of the monument”. Aslanli Yol would leave the city landscape with green fences consisting of trees on both sides. In the Anıtkabir project, cypress trees were foreseen next to the entrance road. Although four rows of poplar trees were planted on both sides of the Lion Road during the application; Virginia junipers were erected in place of the poplars that were removed due to growing more than desired and preventing the appearance of the monumental tomb.

The report, which was created by an earthquake commission formed by professors from Istanbul Technical University on December 11, 1948, reported that the slopes and skirts of Rasattepe should be protected against erosion by afforestation. In the meeting attended by Minister of Public Works Kasım Gülek and Sadri Aran, which was held on March 4, 1948; It was decided to start the landscape works in Anıtkabir, to bring the trees and ornamental plants needed in accordance with the project from Çubuk Dam nursery and nurseries outside Ankara, and to establish a nursery in Anıtkabir. Before the landscaping works began, the municipality of Ankara brought 3.000 m3 of filling land and the leveling of the park was completed. A nursery was established in May 1948 and afforestation works started in the region. Within the scope of the landscape and afforestation works carried out according to the plan prepared by Sadri Aran, 1952 m160.000 of land was afforested until November 2, soil leveling of 100.000 m2 of land was completed, 20.000 m2 of nursery was established. Until November 10, 1953, 43.925 saplings were planted. After 1953, afforestation and landscaping works continued here regularly.

Completion of the construction and transportation of Atatürk's body

The construction was announced on October 26, 1953. At the end of the construction, the total cost of the project reached approximately 20 million liras and approximately 24 million liras were saved from the 4 million lira budget allocated for the project. As part of the preparations for the transfer of Atatürk's body to Anıtkabir, the construction site buildings were demolished a few days before the ceremony, the roads leading to Anıtkabir were completed and Anıtkabir was prepared for the ceremony. On the morning of November 10, 1953, the coffin containing Atatürk's body, which was taken from the Ethnography Museum, reached Anıtkabir accompanied by a ceremony and was placed in the catafalque prepared in front of the monument. Afterwards, the body was buried in the burial chamber in the mausoleum building.

Post-transplant studies and expropriations

The tender for auxiliary buildings' heating, electricity, ventilation and plumbing works was approved by the Council of Ministers on 24 February 1955. A budget of 1955 lira was allocated in 1.500.000 to cover the incomplete parts of Anıtkabir construction and other expenses. November 3, 1955 Grand National Assembly of Turkey's Ataturk Mausoleum submitted to the Presidency about to be transferred to the Ministry of National Education Mausoleum is on the Ministry of Education by the fulfillment of all kinds of services Laws, July 9 were discussed and agreed at the parliamentary plenary in 1956 and 14 July 1956 Official It was published in the newspaper and entered into force.

When the construction was completed, Anıtkabir's total land covers 670.000 m2, while the main building had an area of ​​22.000 m2. After the transfer of Atatürk's body to Anıtkabir, expropriation studies continued. In 1964, two plots of land on the intersection of Akdeniz Avenue and Marshal Fevzi Çakmak Avenue; In 1982, the area of ​​31.800 m2 between Mebusevleri and Marshal Fevzi Çakmak Street was expropriated.

Other burials

The National Unity Committee, which took over in the country after the coup of 27 May, declared that the people who died during the "demonstrations for freedom" between 3 April and 1960 May 28 were accepted as "Hürriyet Martyrs" with the communiqué published on 27 June 1960. It was announced that they would be buried in Hürriyet Martyrdom to be established in Anıtkabir. The burial operations of Turan Emeksiz, Ali İhsan Kalmaz, Nedim Özpolat, Ersan Özey and Gültekin Sökmen took place on 10 June 1960.

In the clashes that occurred during the military coup attempt on May 20, 1963, it was determined that those who died from the government were declared martyrs in line with the decision taken at the meeting of the National Security Council on May 23, 1963 and buried in the martyrdom in Anıtkabir. With the statement of the Ministry of National Defense dated 25 May 1963, it was announced that members of the Turkish Armed Forces, Cafer Atilla, Hasar Aktor, Mustafa Gültekin, Mustafa Çakar and Mustafa Şahin were buried here. Fehmi Erol, who died in the following days, was buried here on May 29, 1963.

Following the death of the fourth President Cemal Gürsel on September 14, 1966, it was decided that Gürsel should be buried in Anıtkabir at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 15, 1966. After the state ceremony held on September 18, 1966, Gürsel's body was buried in the Hürriyet Martyrdom. However, Gürsel's tomb was not built for a while. On September 14, 1971, Deputy Prime Minister Sadi Koçaş stated that the studies carried out by the Ministry of Public Works were about to be completed and that a grave would be built that would not spoil the architectural feature of Anıtkabir. In the written response of Ankara Deputy Suna Tural to the question resolution of Prime Minister Nihat Erim on August 16, 1971, he stated that works were carried out for Cemal Gürsel and other high-level statesmen to establish a “State Elders Cemetery”, He said that it was deemed appropriate to construct a stone tomb, to remove the asphalt road between this grave and the Anıtkabir exit stairs, to make the ground a stone-covered platform and to transfer it to another place.

Following the death of İsmet İnönü on December 25, 1973, in the meeting held by the Council of Ministers in Pink Pavilion under the leadership of Naim Talu, a decision was made to burden İnönü's body to Anıtkabir. Prime Minister Talu, who visited Anıtkabir on December 26, 1973 to determine the place where İnönü will be buried, Erdal İnönü, the son of the Council of Ministers, the officials of the Ministry of Public Works, architects and the son of İsmet İnönü, and the daughter Özden Toker, he decided to make it in the middle of the portico with the portico. At the meeting of the Council of Ministers held the next day, this decision was formalized and a burial was held at the state ceremony held on 28 December 1973. With the Law on State Cemetery No. 10, which came into force on November 1981, 2549, it was enacted that only the tomb of İnönü remained in Anıtkabir, besides Atatürk. The graves of eleven people who were buried in Anıtkabir after 27 May 1960 and 21 May 1963 were opened on 24 August 1988 and their graves were opened to Cebeci Military Martyrs' Cemetery and Gürsel's grave was opened on 27 August 1988. He was buried in the State Cemetery.

Repair and restoration works

In accordance with the regulation prepared in accordance with Article 2524 of the Law on the Execution of Anıtkabir Services No. 2 and entered into force on April 9, 1982, some repair and restoration works were determined in Anıtkabir. Of these studies; The representative of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the representative of the Supreme Council of Real Estate Antiquities and Monuments, an expert or representative from the General Directorate of Foundations, an expert from the Restoration Chair of the Middle East Technical University, an art history expert from the Anıtkabir Command, a representative from the Ministry of Public Works, It was stated to be made by a representative of the Ministry of National Defense and a board consisting of local and foreign experts and representatives, which the board would deem necessary. [116] Due to the fact that Anıtkabir does not have a suitable project, in 1984, the survey project of Anıtkabir started to be prepared with the agreement signed between the Middle East Technical University and the Ministry of National Defense. This project started to be taken as a basis in the repair and restoration works carried out after that. In the context of partial repair and restoration work carried out in this context and continued until the mid-1990s, surrounding walls were built. In 1998, the stones of the platform surrounding the colonized part of the monumental tomb building, which was found to have taken water, were removed by mechanical and chemical methods. Within the scope of the same studies, the steps to this structure were changed. The flagpole and reliefs that caused damage to the base and the reliefs on it were removed and the base was strengthened and the reliefs were reassembled. Pattern repairs of the towers were carried out. As a result of the works that started in 1993 and completed in January 1997, the sarcophagus of İnönü was renewed.

As a result of the evaluations initiated in 2000, it was decided that the area of ​​approximately 3.000 m2 under the monumental tomb should be considered as a museum. This section, which was organized as a museum after the works carried out in this context, was opened on 26 August 2002 under the name Atatürk and the War of Independence Museum. In 2002, the canal system around the mausoleum was renewed once again.

In the statement made by the Turkish Armed Forces on September 20, 2013, it was stated that the flag pole in Anıtkabir was damaged due to meteorological effects and that the pole would be defeated as a result of the examinations made by the Middle East Technical University. The flag pole was replaced with a ceremony held on 28 October 2013.

The first part of the renovation of the stones in the ceremony square under the responsibility of the Ministry of National Defense Ankara Construction Real Estate Regional Directorate was held between April 1 and August 1, 2014. The second episode, which started on September 2, 2014, was completed in 2015. In August 2018, the lead roof coverings and travertine rainwater gutters of the porches surrounding the ceremonial square were renewed within the scope of the works until May 2019.

Location and layout

Anıtkabir is located on a hill with an altitude of 906 m, formerly called Rasattepe, which is now called Anıttepe. It is located at Akdeniz Caddesi number 31 in Mebusevleri Mahallesi, which is administratively located in Çankaya, Ankara.

Mausoleum; The Lion Road is divided into two main sections, the Memorial Block consisting of the ceremonial ground and the monumental tomb, and the Peace Park, which consists of various plants. While Anıtkabir's surface area is 750.000 m2, 120.000 m2 of this area consists of Monument Block and 630.000 m2 Peace Park. Next to the entrance section, which is accessed by the stairs in the direction of Nadolu Square, there is the alle named Aslanli Yolu, which extends to the ceremony area in the northwest-southeast direction. There are rectangular Hürriyet and İstiklâl towers at the beginning of the Aslanli Yolu and male and female sculpture groups in front of these towers respectively. There are twelve lion sculptures on the sides of the Lion Road, where roses and junipers are located on both sides. At the end of the road, where the rectangular planned ceremonial area is accessed with three steps, Mehmetçik and Müdafa-i Hukuk towers are located on the right and left sides respectively.

There are rectangular towers in each corner of the ceremony area surrounded by porches on three sides. In the direction of Aslanli Road, Anitkabir's exit is opposite the entrance of the ceremony area. In the middle of the stairs at the exit, there is a flagpole with the Turkish flag waving, while Misak-ı Millî towers are located on both sides of the exit. With the Victory, Peace, Revolution and Republic towers located at the corners of the ceremony area, the total number of towers reaches 23. Anitkabir Command, art gallery and library, museum and museum directorate are located in the porticoes surrounding the area. There is a relief on the walls of both sides of the staircase, which reaches the monumental tomb from the ceremony area. In the middle of the ladder, there is a lectern. While the symbolic sarcophagus of Atatürk is located in the section called Hall of Honor, there is a burial chamber beneath this section with Atatürk's body. The sarcophagus of İnönü is located right across the mausoleum, in the middle of the section where the porticoes surrounding the ceremony area are located.

Architectural style

The general architecture of Anıtkabir reflects the characteristics of the Second National Architecture Movement period between 1940-1950. In this period, buildings with neoclassical architectural style, which predominantly dominated the monumental aspect, which gave importance to symmetry, and where cut stone material was used, were built; stylistics features of the Anatolian Seljuks only within the borders of Turkey were used. While Onat, one of the architects of Anıtkabir, stated that the historical source of his projects was not based on the sultans of the sultan in the Ottoman Empire, where the "scholastic spirit prevailed", and that it was based on a "classical spirit based on rational lines". Turkey and the Turkish history is not merely refers to the date of the Ottoman Empire and Islam. In this context, Islamic and Ottoman architectural styles were not consciously preferred in Anıtkabir architecture in general. In the Anıtkabir project, which refers to the ancient roots of Anatolia, the architects took the Halicarnassus Mausoleum as an example. The composition of both structures basically consists of columns that surround the main mass in the form of a rectangular prism from the outside. This classic style is repeated in Anıtkabir Doğan Kuban states that Halicarnassus Mausoleum was taken as an example because of the desire to protect Anatolia.

On the other hand, after replacing the column and beam floor system in the interior architecture of the project with an arch, dome (removed with the changes made later) and a vaulted system, elements originating from the Ottoman architecture were used. Besides, the porticoes of Anıtkabir, the ceremonial square and colorful stone decorations on the flooring of the Hall of Honor; It has the characteristics of decorations in Seljuk and Ottoman architectures.

Mausoleum "Turkey's most Nazi influence the structure as" the defining Alexis Van, the structure of the move he said that a totalitarian identity "of Roman origin, the Nazi commentary" considers. Doğan Kuban states that as a result of the changes made in the project in 1950, the building became a “Hitler style building”.

Exterior

The monumental tomb is reached by a 42-step ladder. In the middle of this ladder is the oratory chair, the work of Kenan Yontunç. The facade of the lectern, which is made of white marble, overlooking the ceremonial square is decorated with spiral carvings, and in the middle of it, Atatürk's words “Domination is unconditionally, the nation is unconditionally” written. Nusret Suman performed the decorations on the rostrum.

A rectangular monumental tomb building measuring 72x52x17 m; The front and back facades are surrounded by 8 colonies, and the side facades with a total of 14,40 colonies with a height of 14 m. In the place where the outer walls meet with the roof, it surrounds the building with a border consisting of Turkish carving art. The yellow travertines covered by the reinforced concrete colonate were brought from Eskipazar, and the beige travertines used in the lintels on these columns were brought from the quarries in Kayseri due to the fact that they were not available from the quarries in Eskipazar. On the white marble floor of the area where the colonies are located, there are white rectangular areas surrounded by red marble strips, corresponding to the spaces between the columns. On the front and rear facades, the gap between the two columns in the middle is wider than the others, and the main entrance of the monumental tomb with a flat arch with a white marble frame and the sarcophagus of Atatürk on the same axis are emphasized. “Address to Youth” on the left side of the facade facing the ceremony square and “Tenth Year Speech” on the right side were written by Emin Barın with gold leaf on stone relief.

On the right of the stairs leading to the monumental tomb, there is a relief on Sakarya Square Battle and on the left, on the Commander-in-Chief Square Battle. Yellow travertines brought from Eskipazar were used in both reliefs. On the far right of the relief on the Battle of Sakarya, which is the work of İlhan Koman, there is a figure of a young man, two horses, a woman and a man representing those who set out to defend their homeland during the defense struggle against the attacks in the first period of the battle. Turning back, he lifts his left hand and clenches his fist. In front of this group, there is a mud in the mud, horses that struggle, a man and two women who try to turn the wheel, and a standing man and a woman who kneels to offer him a scabbarded sword. This group represents the period before the battle started. The figure of two women and a child sitting on the ground to the left of this group symbolizes the people under invasion and waiting for the Turkish army. There is a figure of the angel of victory flying over these people and offering a wreath to Atatürk. To the far left of the composition is the woman sitting on the floor representing the “Motherland Mother”, the kneeling young man representing the Turkish army winning the battle, and the oak figure representing the victory.

A group of peasant women, boys and horses on the far left of the relief on the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief Square, the work of Zühtü Müridoğlu, symbolizes the period of preparation for the national war. Ataturk in the section on his right stretches one hand forward and shows the target to the Turkish army. The angel in front carries this order away with its pipe. There are also two horse figures in this section. In the next section, there is a man representing the sacrifices and heroism of the Turkish army, which was attacked in line with Atatürk's order, a soldier with a sword in his hand and a shield with a sword in his hand. In front of him is the angel of victory calling the Turkish army with a Turkish flag.

Hall of Honor

The first floor of the building, which is called the Hall of Honor, where Atatürk's symbolic sarcophagus is located, is entered after the bronze door made by the company Veneroni Prezati, after the preparation area consisting of two rows of colonies with a wider, narrower opening in the middle. In the interior, on the wall to the right of the door, there is Atatürk's last message to the Turkish army of 29 October 1938, and on the wall to his left is a message of condolence for the Turkish nation dated 21 November 1938, published by İnönü upon Atatürk's death. The inner side walls of the Hall of Honor; The tiger skin brought from Afyonkarahisar is covered with white marble and green marble from Bilecik, while the floor and vaults are covered with cream from Çanakkale, red from Hatay and black marble from Adana. On the two sides of the columnar passage in the preparatory part, the design of the strip-shaped mosaics with rugs patterns on the floor, framing the entrance, belongs to Nezih Eldem. Three entrance points of the Hall of Honor are marked by placing transverse rectangular red marbles surrounded by black marble after the thresholds. In the middle entrance, which is wider than the other two entrances, in the middle of the preparation section, the cleat motifs of red and black marbles are placed in four directions of the longitudinal rectangular area; The cleat motifs in the other two entrances are created in the middle of the floor with red marble on black marble in longitudinal rectangular areas. The side edges of the floor are bordered by a marbling accentuated by the black marble, which is formed by the teeth in the same material coming out of the red marble strip. On the long sides of the Rectangular Hall of Honor Hall, there is an application of the border ornament motif in the preparation area with wider and black teeth on a red background. Apart from this, a pathway composed of black and white marbles boundary borders the long edges of the Hall of Honor. Outside these borders, pitchfork motifs with white marble are placed on the black background in five longitudinal rectangular sections placed at certain intervals at the level of the cleat motifs at the entrance.

On the sides of the Hall of Honor there is a gallery with rectangular plan, marble floor and covered with nine cross vaults. Beige marble strip that surrounds the rectangular white marble in the middle between the seven openings with marble frames that provide transition to these galleries, forms ram horn motifs on short sides. On the floor of the nine sections of both galleries, there are decorations with the same understanding but different motifs. In the gallery on the left, the white marble square areas, which are formed by turning with beige marble in the first section from the entrance, surround the transverse and longitudinal rectangular shape in the middle by hopping black marble strips at the four corners. In the second part of the same gallery, the black marble strips surrounding the transverse rectangular area in the center are angled towards the long edges to form ram horn motifs. In the third part, there is a composition of ram horn motifs created by narrow and wide uses of black stripes. In the fourth section, there are motifs resembling a ram horn, which are abstracted from the black marble strips on the short sides of the rectangle and placed in pieces. In the fifth part, a composition similar to checker stone was formed with black and white marbles. In the sixth section, the black stripes around the longitudinal rectangular areas in the middle of the long sides of the rectangle form the ram horn motifs by curling on the short sides. In the seventh part, there is a composition in which black marble stripes placed on the short edges of the rectangular area form the motive motifs. In the eighth chapter, while the black stripes, which limit the longitudinal rectangular area in the middle, continue the short and long sides and form a double cleat in four directions on the edges; "L" shaped black marbles are placed at the corners of the rectangle. In the ninth section, which is the last section, the strips coming out of the rectangle in the middle are closed in a way that creates rectangular areas differently in four directions.

On the floor of the first section by the entrance of the gallery on the right of the Hall of Honor, there is a composition in which the black stripes surrounding the rectangle in the middle form two pairs of ram horns. On the floor of the second section, two ram horns, which are placed on long sides and formed by a strip of black marble, are connected to each other by the strip in the middle perpendicular to them. On the floor of the third section, the black marble strips that follow the square at the bottom and top form the ram horn on the long sides. In the fourth part, the strips coming out of the corners of the transverse rectangle with a square white marble in the middle form the ram horn motifs. In the fifth part, pitchforest motifs with black marble are engraved in every corner of the square area. The black marble strips on the edges of the square area in the sixth section form a cleat symmetrically. The black marble stripes in the seventh section create a composition with pitchfork motifs. In the eighth part, the ram horns below and above the square are combined with black marble strips and a different arrangement is obtained. In the ninth and last part, the horizontal black marble stripes below and above the square area create ram horn motifs.

In addition to twenty-two windows, four of which are doors, eighteen fixed, in the Hall of Honor; right across the entrance is a window overlooking the Ankara Castle and directly behind the sarcophagus, larger than other windows. The production of bronze railings of this window was also carried out by the Veneroni Prezati. The railings designed by Nezih Eldem combine four moon-shaped pieces together and clamp each other with handcuffs and wedges to form a clover leaf motif, which is clamped to the leaf motif next to it. The sarcophagus is located above the ground, inside the niche covered with white marble, whose walls and floor are brought from Afyonkarahisar, where the large window is located. In the construction of the sarcophagus, two monolithic red marbles from the Gavur Mountains in Bahçe were used.

The ceiling of the Hall of Honor consisting of 27 beams, the surface of the cross vaults covering the galleries and the ceilings of the galleries are decorated with mosaics. On the side walls of the Hall of Honor, a total of 12 bronze torches were used, six in each. The top of the building is covered with a flat lead roof.

Burial chamber

On the ground floor of the building, iwan-shaped spaces with cradle vaulted ceilings are opened to the corridors covered with cross vaults. Atatürk's body, which is located just below the symbolic sarcophagus, is located in an octagonal burial chamber on this floor, directly in a grave dug into the ground. The ceiling of the room is covered with a pyramid-shaped cone cut by octagonal light. The sarcophagus located in the middle of the room and facing the qibla is bordered by an octagonal area. Around the marble sarcophagus; All provinces of Turkey, where the soil brass vases from Cyprus and Azerbaijan is located. The room, whose floors and walls are covered with marble, has mosaic decorations. Golden light is emitted from eight sources in the middle octagonal skylight.

Lean Road

The 26 m long alle extending in the northwest-southeast direction from the entrance of Anıtkabir, which is reached after the 262-step staircase, to the ceremonial square, is called the Lion Road due to the lion statues on both sides. On the two sides of the road, there are 24 seated lion sculptures made of marble in a lying position, which will “inspire strength and calmness”, and this number represents 24 Oguz lengths. The sculptures are listed in pairs with the aim of "representing the unity and solidarity of the Turkish nation". While creating these sculptures, Hüseyin Anka Özkan, the designer of the sculptures, was inspired by the sculpture called the Marash Lion from the Hittite period in the Istanbul Archeology Museum. Although four rows of poplars were erected on both sides of the road at first, Virginia junipers were planted in their places due to the excessive growth of these trees. [101] There are also roses on the sides of the road. Beige travertines brought from Kayseri were used in the laying of the road. There are Hürriyet and İstiklâl towers at the beginning of the Aslanli Yol and in front of these towers are male and female sculpture groups respectively. The road is connected to the ceremonial square with a three-step ladder at the end.

Male and female sculpture groups

In front of the Hürriyet Tower, there is a group of three men made by Hüseyin Anka Özkan. These sculptures express the "deep pain that Turkish men feel about Atatürk's death". Among the sculptures placed on a pedestal, the helmeted, boned and rankless on the right represents the Turkish soldier, the Turkish youth holding the book next to him, and the intellectual, the Turkish people with a wool cap, a felt patch and a stick in his left hand.

In front of the Independence Tower, there is a group of three women, again made by Özkan. These sculptures express the "deep pain that Turkish women feel from the death of Atatürk". both the edges of the sculpture in national clothes resting on a pedestal extending from the floor and Turkey representing abundance, they hold a wreath consisting of spike harness. The statue on the right wishes mercy to God with the vessel in his hand, and the woman in the middle statue covers his crying face with one hand.

towers

The top of the ten towers in Anıtkabir, all of which have a rectangular plan, are covered with a pyramid-shaped roof, the interior of which is a mirrored vault, and the outer part is a bronze realm with a spearhead on their top. The inner and outer surfaces of the towers are covered with yellow travertines brought from Eskipazar. There are colorful mosaics with different patterns on the doors and windows embellished with old Turkish geometric ornaments. On the outside, there are borders consisting of Turkish carvings that surround the structures on all four sides.

Independence Tower

At the entrance of the Lion Road, on the red stone floor of the İstiklâl Tower on the right, yellow stone strips divide the area into rectangles. The relief, which is the work of Zühtü Müridoğlu and located inside the wall to the left of the entrance to the tower, includes a standing man holding a sword with both hands and an eagle placed on a rock next to it. Eagle, power and independence; The male figure represents the army, which is the strength and power of the Turkish nation. There are turquoise tiles in the joints of the travertines inside the tower, parallel to the floor and on the edges of the window frames. On the walls, there are Atatürk's words about independence as a writing border: 

• "While our nation seemed to end with the most terrible extinction, the voice of their ancestors, who invited their children to revolt against their captivity, rose in our hearts and called us to the last War of Independence." (1921)
• “Life means war, collision. Success in life is definitely possible with success in battle. ” (1927)
• “We are the nation that wants life and independence and we alone and only for that we disregard our lives.” (1921)
• “There is no such principle as begging for mercy and mercy. The Turkish nation, Turkey's future children, should bear in mind for a moment. " (1927)
• "This nation has not lived without independence, cannot and cannot live, independence or death!" (1919)

Hurriyet Tower

Yellow stone strips on the red stone floor of the Hürriyet Tower on the left side of the Lion Road divide the area into rectangles. In the relief, which is the work of Zühtü Müridoğlu, inside the wall to the right of the tower entrance; An angel holding a paper and a horse figure with a rampant beside him are located. The angel, depicted as a standing girl, symbolizes the sacredness of independence, along with the paper representing the "Declaration of Liberty" in her right hand. The horse is also a symbol of freedom and independence. Inside the tower, there are photographs showing the construction works of Anıtkabir and stone samples used in construction. On the walls, Atatürk's words about freedom are written:

• “The essence is that the Turkish nation lives as a respected and honorable nation. This principle can only be achieved by having full independence. A nation lacking independence, no matter how rich and abundant, cannot qualify for a higher operation than being a butler in the face of civilized humanity. ” (1927)
• "I think that it is absolutely possible that the continuation of honor, honor, honor and humanity in a nation is possible with the freedom and independence of that nation." (1921)
• “It is national sovereignty on which freedom, equality and justice are based.” (1923)
• “We are a nation that has been a symbol of freedom and independence in all our historical life.” (1927)

Mehmetçik Tower

The black diagonal strips from the corners on the red stone floor of the Mehmetçik Tower, located to the right of the section where the Lion Road reaches the ceremony square, form two crosses in the center. In the relief on the outer surface of the tower and the work of Zühtü Müridoğlu; The deportation of the Turkish soldier (Mehmetçik) who is going to the front is explained. In the composition, the mother, who put her hand on the shoulder of the soldier son, sent her to war for the homeland, is depicted. Turquoise tiles are located between the joints of the travertines inside the tower parallel to the floor and at the edges of the window frames. On the walls of the tower, Atatürk's words about Turkish soldiers and women are as follows: 

• “The heroic Turkish soldier grasped the meaning of the Anatolian wars and fought a new country.” (1921)
• "It is not possible to talk about working women on Anatolian peasant women anywhere in the world, in any country." (1923)
• "There is no unit of measure for the sacrifices and heroism of the children of this nation."

Defense-i Law Tower

The black diagonal strips coming out of the corners on the red stone floor of the Defense Tower, located on the left of the section where the Lion Road reaches the ceremony square, form two crosses in the center. The relief on the outer surface of the tower wall, which is the work of Nusret Suman, describes the defense of national rights in the War of Independence. In the relief, "Hold!" To the enemy, who tries to cross the borders by holding the other hand forward while holding the sword that rests on the ground. A naked male figure is depicted. Turkey under the tree in the hands extended forward, while it protects the male figure represents the nation united for the purpose of salvation. On the walls of the tower, Atatürk's words about the defense are stated: 

• "It is essential to make national power effective and dominate national will." (1919)
• "The nation will then personally own its life, independence and all its existence." (1923)
• "History; it can never deny the blood, right, and existence of a nation. ” (1919)
• “The most fundamental, most obvious desire and faith that emerged from the heart and conscience of the Turkish nation and inspired it were evident: Salvation.” (1927)

Victory Tower

In the rectangular area surrounded by black stripes, in the middle of the red floor of the Victory Tower, located on the right corner of the ceremony square on the Lion Road, the stripes intersect in the center by making a diagonal. In each triangular area formed by the rectangle, a black triangle is placed. On each side of the rectangle, there is a backward facing motif in the form of the letter "M". There are turquoise tiles in the joints of the travertines inside the tower, parallel to the floor and on the edges of the window frames. Inside the tower, the cannon and carriage which delivered Atatürk's body from Dolmabahçe Palace on 19 November 1938 to the navy in Sarayburnu are exhibited. On its walls, there are the following words about some of the military victories Atatürk won: 

• “It is only with the army of lore that victories give decent results.” (1923)
• “This homeland is a good homeland worthy of making paradise for our children and children.” (1923)
• “There is no defensive line, there is defensive surface. That surface is the whole country. Before all pieces of land get wet with citizens blood, homeland can not be left." (1921)

Peace Tower

At the far corner of the ceremonial square, in the middle of the red floor of the Peace Tower, opposite the Victory Tower, in the rectangular area surrounded by black stripes, the stripes intersect in the center by making a diagonal. In each triangular area formed by the rectangle, a black triangle is placed. On each side of the rectangle, there is a backward facing motif in the form of the letter "M". The relief, which is the work of Nusret Suman and depicting Atatürk's principle of "Peace at home, peace in the world" on the inner wall, depicts the peasants, fields and trees engaged in agriculture, and a soldier figure holding out his sword. The soldier representing the Turkish army protects the citizens. Inside the tower, Lincoln brand, ceremony and office cars used by Atatürk between 1935-1938 are exhibited. Atatürk's words about peace are on the walls: 

• “Citizens of the world should be disciplined to get away from envy, greed and hatred.” (1935)
• "Peace at home peace in the world!"
• "Unless the nation is exposed to danger, the war is a murder." (1923)

23 April Tower 

The black diagonal stripes emerging from the corners on the red stone floor of the 23 April Tower, located to the right of the stairs opening out to the ceremony square, form two diagonals in the center. Located in the inner wall of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on April 23, 1920, representing the opening Rights Atamulu the work of relief, standing and key in one hand, while the other is located a woman holding paper. While April 23, 1920 is written on the paper, the key symbolizes the opening of the assembly. The Cadillac private car that Atatürk used between 1936-1938 is on display in the tower. On its walls, there are the following words of Atatürk about the opening of the parliament: 

• "There was only one decision: He too, to establish a new Turkish State, whose dominance was based on the nationality, ball and ball, independent." (1919)
• "Turkey is the sole and genuine representative of the State of the one and only Grand National Assembly of Turkey." (1922)
• “Our point of view is that force, power, domination, administration are given to the public directly. It is the possession of the people. ” (1920)

Black diagonal stripes emerging from the corners on the red stone floor of the Misak-ı Milli Tower, located to the left of the stairs opening to the outside of the ceremony square, form two diagonals in the center. The relief, which is the work of Nusret Suman and located on the outer surface of the tower wall, depicts four hands placed one on top of the other on a sword handle. With this composition, the nation that swears in order to save the homeland is symbolized. Atatürk's words about Mîsâk-ı Milli are written on the walls of the tower: 

• "The misrepresentation, which is our motto, is the iron hand of the nation, which has written the nation to the past." (1923)
• “We want to live free and detached within our national borders.” (1921)
• "Nations that do not find a national self are a complaint from other nations." (1923)

Revolutionary Tower 

The rectangular area in the middle of the red floor of the Revolution Tower to the right of the mausoleum is surrounded by black stones on the short sides and red stones on the long sides; The edges of the room are bordered by the comb motif created by the black stone band. On the relief of Nusret Suman, located on the inner wall of the tower, two torches held by one hand are depicted. The Ottoman Empire, which was held by a weak and weak hand, was collapsing with the torch that was about to go out; The strong hands raised towards the sky with the lights in his hair while the other revolutions to bring the torch to the newly established Republic of Turkey and Ataturk's Turkish nation is represented by the level of contemporary civilization. Atatürk's words about the reforms are written on the walls of the tower: 

• "If a delegation does not walk with the same purpose, with all the women and men, there is no science and possibility of science that will allow them to continue their treatment." (1923)
• "We have taken our inspiration directly from life, not from heaven and strange." (1937)

Republic Tower 

The rectangular black part of the red stone floor of the Republic Tower on the left of the mausoleum surrounds the black colored strips to form a rug motif. On the walls of the tower, Atatürk's following statement about the republic is: 

• “Our greatest strength, the most amazing is our safety support, the domination has grasped our nationality, and we have actually given it to the people and actively proved that we can hold it in the hands of the people.” (1927)

Ceremony square

The ceremonial square with a capacity of 15.000 people, located at the end of the Lion Road, is a rectangular area measuring 129 × 84,25 m. The floor of the square is divided into 373 rectangles; Each section is decorated with cube-shaped black, yellow, red and white colored travertines and rug motifs. In the middle of the square, there is a composition in the section bordered by black travertines. In this section, the rhombus shaped motif formed by red and black travertines is lined on the long edges of the wide edge decoration by surrounded by black stones and pitchfork motifs with red stones. The "cross" motifs fill the floor of the same edging with half rhombuses on the short sides, as one or two. All of the smaller rectangular sections surrounded by black travertines in the area have a full rhombus pattern in the middle of the edges and half rhombus in the middle of the edges. The red stripes from the full rhombus consisting of red stones surrounding the black stones in the middle form diagonal.

The area is accessed by a three-step staircase down the four sides. The three sides of the ceremony area are covered with porticoes and these porticoes are covered with yellow travertines brought from Eskipazar. The rectangular sections formed by black travertines surrounded by yellow travertines on the floors of these porticoes are hopping. In the porticoes on the long sides of the ceremonial square, each of these quadrilaterals is located at the level of the window or door opening to the portico, and on the floor between each column pair in the double colonnade. There are rectangular windows on the ground floor of the porticoes with vaulted covered galleries. On the ceilings of these sections, Turkish rug motifs are engraved in fresco technique.

In the middle of the 28-step stairs located at the entrance of the ceremony square in the direction of Çankaya; There is a steel flagpole at the top of which the Turkish flag fluctuates, its height is 29,53 m, base diameter is 440 mm and crown diameter is 115 mm. While Kenan Yontunç designed the relief on the base of the flagpole, Nusret Suman implemented the relief on the base. In relief consisting of allegorical shapes; civilization with torch, assault with sword, defense with helmet, victory with oak branch, peace with olive branch

The sarcophagus of İsmet İnönü

There is a symbolic sarcophagus of İsmet İnönü between the 25th and 13th columns in the section where there are 14-span colonies between the Peace and Victory towers. There is a grave chamber under this sarcophagus. The sarcophagus located on the white travertine covered plinth at the level of the ceremony square is covered with pink syenite extracted from the hearths in Topçam. There is a symbolic wreath made of the same material in front of the sarcophagus. The excerpt from the telegram he took to Ankara after the Second Battle of İnönü, which was won under the command of İnönü on the left side of the sarcophagus, is as follows:

From Metristepe, April 1, 1921
At 6.30 am, the situation I saw from Metristepe: Bozüyük is burning, the enemy left the battlefield filled with thousands of dead to our weapons.
Ismet Front Commander Ismet

On the right side of the sarcophagus, the following quote is given from the telegram Atatürk sent in response to this telegram:

Ankara, April 1, 1921
Commander of the Garp Front and Erkan-ı Harbiye-i Umumiye Chief İsmet Pasha
You ate not only the enemy, but also the luck of the nation.
Grand National Assembly Chief Mustafa Kemal

The burial chamber and exhibition hall under the sarcophagus are entered through the door opening from the outer wall of the western columns. To the left of the short corridor, the stairs leading up to the first floor, the rectangular reception hall, whose walls and ceilings are made of fiber concrete, are reached. On the ceiling, there is a solid oak cage inclined towards the walls. The floor, which is covered with granite, features oak-skeleton leather armchairs and a solid oak bench in which the special notebook they wrote during the visits of the İnönü family was placed. There is an exhibition hall on the left of the reception hall and a burial room on the right. The design of the exhibition hall is similar to the reception hall, which includes the cinema section where İnönü's photographs and showcases displaying some personal belongings, and a documentary about the life and activities of İnönü are published. The square planned grave room, which is entered through a wooden door and then a bronze door, is covered with a cut pyramid-shaped ceiling. On the western wall of the room, there is a geometric patterned vitral window made of red, blue, white and yellow glasses and a mihrab in the direction of Qibla. The junction and the ceiling of the altar are covered with gold mosaic. On the floor covered with white granite, there is a sarcophagus covered with white granite and facing the qibla, where the body of İnönü is located. In the rectangular niches on the south wall of the room and on both sides of the entrance, the following words of İsmet İnönü are written in gilding:

It is not possible for us to give up the principle of the Republic, which gives all citizens the same right, which gives all citizens the same right.
Ismet Inonu

Aziz Turkish Youth!
In all our works, advanced people, advanced people and high human society should stand before your eyes as a target. As a mighty patriotic generation, you will also carry the Turkish Nation on your shoulders.
19.05.1944 Ismet Inonu

Atatürk and the War of Independence Museum

Entering through the entrance gate of the National Pact Tower, reaching the Revolution Tower through the porches, continuing under the Hall of Honor, reaching the Republic Tower and from there to the Defense Tower through the porches, Atatürk and the War of Independence It serves as a museum. In the first section between the Misak-ı Milli and the Revolution towers, Ataturk's belongings and Ataturk's wax statue are exhibited. In the second part of the museum; In addition to three panorama oil paintings on the Çanakkale War, the Sakarya Pitched Battle and the Great Attack and the Commander-in-Chief Battle, there are portraits of some of the commanders who participated in the War of Independence and Atatürk and oil paintings depicting various moments of the war. In the third section of the museum, which consists of thematic exhibition areas in the 18 galleries in the corridor surrounding the second section; There are galleries where events related to the Atatürk period are described with reliefs, models, busts and photographs. In the fourth and last part of the museum, located between the Republic Tower and the Defense of Defense Tower, there is a wax statue depicting Atatürk on his desk and the stuffed body of Atatürk's dog Foks, as well as Atatürk's special library is included.

Peace Park

Forming part of the hill that takes place Anitkabir Ataturk 630.000 m2 and "peace at home, peace in the world" inspired by the maxim of various countries as well as areas where plants brought from Turkey, involving some regions. The park consists of two parts: East Park and West Park; Afghanistan, United States, Germany, Austria, Belgium, United Kingdom, China, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Iraq, Spain, Israel, Sweden, Italy, Japan, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, Norway, Portugal, Taiwan, Yugoslavia and seedlings were sent from 25 countries, including Greece. Today, there are approximately 104 plants of 50.000 species in the Peace Park.

Service execution, ceremonies, visits and other events

The administration of Anıtkabir and the execution of its services were given to the Ministry of National Education, together with the Law No. 14 on the Execution of All Kinds of Services by Monument-Kabir, which entered into force on 1956 July 6780. This responsibility was transferred to the Turkish Armed Forces Chief of General Staff with the Law No. 15 on the Execution of Anıtkabir Services, which came into force on September 1981, 2524, instead of this law.

The principles regarding visits and ceremonies in Anıtkabir are regulated by the regulation prepared in accordance with Article 2524 of the Law on the Execution of Anıtkabir Services numbered 2 and entered into force on 9 April 1982. According to the regulation, the ceremonies in Anıtkabir; Number 10 ceremonies attended by the president or representative, or national holidays and the anniversary of Atatürk's death on November 1, ceremonies number 2 attended by the people included in the state protocol, and all persons other than those who participated in these two types of ceremonies, and number 3 representatives of legal persons. They are divided into three as ceremonies. Ceremonies number 1, in which the ceremony officer was the commander of the guard, starts from the entrance of the Lion Road and carries the wreath to be left in the sarcophagus. Except for the ceremonies attended by foreign heads of state, while a recording of the National Anthem is being played, 10 officers keep a vigil during the ceremonies on November 10. Ceremonies number 2, in which the commander of the company or an officer was a ceremonial officer and the National Anthem was not stolen, also starts from the entrance of the Lion Road, and the wreath to be left in the sarcophagus carries petty officers and soldiers. The number 3 ceremonies where the National Anthem, where the team commander or a petty officer was the ceremonial officer, starts from the ceremony square and the wreath is carried by the privates. In all three types of ceremonies, different visit books are kept, where the texts given to the Anıtkabir Command prior to the visit are written and the visitors sign the texts written in this written form.

The organization of ceremonies according to the regulation belongs to the Anıtkabir Command. Besides the ceremonies, Anıtkabir; Although it has hosted various demonstrations, rallies and protests that support or oppose different political formations; Since the enactment of this directive, all kinds of ceremonies, demonstrations and marches other than the purpose of respect for Atatürk are prohibited in Anıtkabir. It is stated that playing an anthem or music other than the National Anthem is prohibited under the regulations, and the sound and light shows in Anıtkabir can be performed at the hours determined by the Anıtkabir Command, according to the protocol principles to be held with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Wreaths and ceremonies are subject to the permission of the Presidency and the General Directorate of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Staff and the Ankara Garrison Command. Ankara Garrison Command is responsible for the security of the ceremonies and security measures; It is taken by the Ankara Garrison Command, the Ankara Police Department and the Undersecretariat of the National Intelligence Service.

In 1968, Anıtkabir Association was established in order to meet the requirements of the Anıtkabir Command that cannot be met by the state budget. The association, which has been operating in its building in Anıtkabir since its establishment; today, it continues its activities in its building in Mebusevleri.

(Wikipedia)