Anitkabir in Ankara, Turkey. Photo by David Stanley via Flickr
When Colonel Mustafa Kemal famously ordered his men to fix bayonets after their ammunition ran out on the heights of Gallipoli in 1915, as the far better equipped Anzac troops attacked their position, it was a desperate gamble. “I don’t order you to attack, I order you to die,” he told his soldiers. “In the time which passes until we die, other troops and commanders can take our places.” Amazingly, it worked, he survived, and the legend of the man later to be called Atatürk began.
Upon his death 23 years later in 1938, the Turkish Republic sought to honor the man and his legend with a mausoleum, equal to the great leaders of history. Rasattepe hilltop, overlooking central Ankara was chosen and construction commenced in 1944. Digging revealed that this was not the first time the hill had been used as burial site, as several barrows of the Phrygian civilization from the 12th century B.C. were discovered and had to be excavated and transported to Anatolian Civilizations Museum.
The design for Anitkabir was submitted by Turkish architects Emin Onat and Ahmet Orhan Arda, who won out against 48 other proposals from around the world. Their plan is now considered the prime example of the period of Turkish architecture known as the Second National Architecture Movement, which was characterized by symmetrical stone buildings. For a structure of such importance, the best of all materials, including the external travertine and internal marble, was brought in from various parts of Turkey. Seljuq and Ottoman ornamentation features were added on top.
The sum total remains as solemn and grand today as it did when finally opened in 1953. Entrance to the tomb complex follows suit, beginning down an 860 ft-long pedestrian walkway lined with 12 pairs of stone lion statues representing the 24 Turkic Tribes. At the end, the Ceremonial Plaza opens up and the Hall of Honor, Anıtkabir, rises to the left.
Often the approach across the 423-foot-by-276-foot space is a challenge, requiring weaving through vast crowds of locals and tourists alike. In fact, on November 10, 2013, more than a million people came to pay tribute to the 75th anniversary of Ataturk’s death. Inside the structure, the man himself is under a huge marble cenotaph cut from a single 40-ton block and bathed in sunlight from a monumental window behind it.
On the east side of the courtyard, an excellent museum tells the story of Ataturk’s life and includes many personal effects, including several of his official automobiles. Also be sure to visit the ten towers between the arcades surrounding the plaza, each of which symbolize the great ideals of the Turkish Republic. However, on your visit to Anitkabir, a more fitting (and less militaristic) tribute to Atatürk’s famous dictum “Peace at Home, Peace in the World,” can be found in the Peace Park, which surrounds the complex.
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