Turkish State Cemetery facts for kids
|
Devlet Mezarlığı
|
|
Otağ (marquee) in the State cemetery.
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | August 30, 1988 |
| Location | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Type | Military, national |
The Turkish State Cemetery (Turkish: Devlet Mezarlığı) is a special national and military cemetery in Ankara, Turkey. It's where the presidents of Turkey are buried. It also holds the graves of important military leaders who fought alongside Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk was the founder of the Republic of Turkey during the Turkish War of Independence.
Contents
History of the Cemetery
This important cemetery was created by a law on November 10, 1981. It is located near the "Karadeniz Havuzu" (Black Sea Pool). This pool is on the land of the historic "Atatürk Orman Çiftliği" (Atatürk Forest Ranch) in Ankara.
The design of the cemetery was chosen through a competition in 1982. The architect Özgür Ecevit and the plant expert Ekrem Gürenli won the contest.
The cemetery officially opened on August 30, 1988. A special state funeral ceremony was held. During this event, the bodies of two former presidents, Cemal Gürsel and Cevdet Sunay, were moved here. The bodies of 61 commanders from the War of Independence were also brought to rest here. Many important leaders attended the opening, including President Kenan Evren and Prime Minister Turgut Özal.
The Ministry of National Defense is in charge of managing the cemetery.
The Memorial Park
The Turkish State Cemetery is also a large memorial park. It covers an area of 536,000 square meters. A big part of it is green space, perfect for relaxing. The Black Sea Pool, which Atatürk himself ordered to be built in 1931, was repaired when the cemetery was made. Now, the area around the pool is a nice park for visitors.
There's a special road in the cemetery called "Cumhuriyet Tarihi Yolu" (History of the Republic Road). This road has marble sculptures along its sides. These sculptures show important moments in Turkey's history, especially how the nation was reborn. It's the first time such a large collection of sculptures has been put together in Turkey.
The road begins with a statue showing Atatürk landing in Samsun on May 19, 1919. This event marked the start of the War of Independence. Other sculptures remember important meetings like the Erzurum and Sivas congresses. They also show the creation of the new parliament in Ankara, called the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
In the section about the wars, five columns stand in the water. They have words from Atatürk's "Büyük Söylev" (Grand Speech). Another sculpture in this section celebrates the Treaty of Lausanne, which brought peace. Along the road, there are also carvings that show the start of the regular army. They also depict famous battles like the First and Second İnönü Battles, the Battle of the Sakarya, and the Battle of Dumlupınar.
The very last artwork is an abstract sculpture. It represents the end of the caliphate (a religious leadership position) when the republic was formed. A group of Turkish artists, led by the famous Rahmi Aksungur, created all these artworks.
-
A statue showing Atatürk landing in Samsun, which started the War of Independence.
-
The section about the congresses.
-
Another view of the congresses section.
-
The section about the battles.
-
A carving from the battles section.
-
Another carving from the battles section.
-
A third carving from the battles section.
-
The sculpture for the Peace Treaty of Lausanne.
-
The sculpture representing the Republic.
-
-
-
-
The entrance to the cemetery.
The Burial Area
Next to the memorial park is the actual graveyard. There's a special place for funeral ceremonies here. It has two groups of sculptures that show scenes from the War of Independence.
At the end of the ceremony area, you'll find an octagon-shaped building. It looks like a traditional Turkic tent called a "yurt." This building is named "Simge" (Symbol). It provides shelter from bright sun, heat, or rain. Underneath the "Simge" is a wall called "Anısal Duvar" (Memorial Wall). It has the names of those buried there carved into it. This wall looks like it's not finished. For every new president of Turkey, a new stone is added to this wall. This shows that the republic will continue forever.
A tall flagpole, 25 meters high, stands in the area where presidents are buried. It represents how the republic has grown and developed.
You can get to the state cemetery by city bus line 365 from Kızılay. Or, you can take public bus line 339 from Sıhhiye Bridge.
The Museum
Inside the cemetery, there is also a museum. It displays personal items, photos, and old newspapers belonging to the people buried there. The museum is open on weekdays, but it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Who is Buried Here?
According to the law, only state presidents and important commanders from the War of Independence were originally allowed to be buried in the state cemetery.
In November 2006, a new law was passed. This law added prime ministers and speakers of the parliament to the list. This change allowed former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit to be buried there after he passed away. In January 2020, all political parties agreed that Rahşan Ecevit could be buried in the state cemetery. She became the first civilian to be buried there.
Presidents
- Cemal Gürsel, 4th president
- Cevdet Sunay, 5th president
- Fahri Korutürk, 6th president
- Kenan Evren, 7th president
Prime Ministers
- Bülent Ecevit, 16th prime minister
- Yıldırım Akbulut, 20th prime minister
Speakers of the Parliament
- Ferruh Bozbeyli, 10th speaker
- Sabit Osman Avcı, 12th speaker
- Kemal Güven, 13th speaker
- İsmet Sezgin, 18th speaker
Commanders
The cemetery has memorials for 61 important military leaders. These were companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk during the Turkish War of Independence. They held various high ranks, from field marshal to colonel. Some of these memorials are symbolic, meaning the commander's body is buried elsewhere.
- Fevzi Çakmak, field marshal (empty, his body is in Eyüp Cemetery)
- Ali Fuat Cebesoy, general (empty, his body is in Geyve)
- Cevat Çobanlı, general
- Yakup Şevki Subaşı, general
- Fahrettin Altay, general
- Kâzım Özalp, general
- Kâzım Karabekir, general
- İzzettin Çalışlar, general
- Kâzım Orbay, general
- Abdurrahman Nafiz Gürman, general
- Salih Omurtak, general
- Mustafa Muğlalı, general (empty)
- Cemil Cahit Toydemir, general
- Sabit Noyan, general
- Kâzım İnanç, lieutenant general
- Şükrü Naili Gökberk, lieutenant general
- Ali Hikmet Ayerdem, lieutenant general
- Kemalettin Sami Gökçen, lieutenant general
- Naci Eldeniz, lieutenant general
- Nihat Anılmış, lieutenant general
- Mehmet Kâzım Dirik, lieutenant general
- Nazmi Solok, lieutenant general
- Ahmet Naci Tınaz, lieutenant general
- Ahmet Derviş, lieutenant general (empty)
- Mehmet Kenan Dalbaşar, lieutenant general
- Ömer Halis Bıyıktay, lieutenant general
- Yusuf İzzet Met, major general (empty)
- Refet Bele, major general (empty, his body is in Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı)
- Rüştü Sakarya, major general
- Selâhattin Âdil, major general
- Kâzım Sevüktekin, major general
- Osman Nuri Koptagel, major general
- Hüseyin Nurettin Özsu, major general
- Mehmet Sabri Erçetin, major general
- Mürsel Bakû, major general
- Halit Karsıalan, major general
- Âşir Atlı, major general
- Akif Erdemgil, major general
- Sıtkı Üke, major general
- Mehmet Suphi Kula, major general (empty)
- Cavit Erdel, major general
- Alâattin Koval, major general
- Osman Zati Koral, major general
- Ahmet Zeki Soydemir, major general
- Nazif Kayacık, major general
- Mehmet Hayri Tarhan, major general
- Münip Özsoy, brigadier
- Veysel Özgür, brigadier (empty)
- Mehmet Arif Örgüç, brigadier
- Şerif Yaçağaz, brigadier (empty)
- Ethem Servet Boral, brigadier (empty)
- Ahmet Nuri Öztekin, brigadier (empty)
- Mehmet Nâzım Bey, brigadier (martyr)
- Hasan Mümtaz Çeçen, brigadier
- Reşat Çiğiltepe, brigadier
- İbrahim Çolak, brigadier
- Mehmet Hulusi Conk, brigadier
- Halit Akmansü, brigadier
- Mehmet Nuri Conker, brigadier
- Ahmet Fuat Bulca, brigadier
- Mahmut Nedim Hendek, colonel
Spouses of Prime Ministers
See also
- List of national cemeteries by country
- List of high-ranking commanders of the Turkish War of Independence
