Mausoleum of Ataturk

No visit to Ankara would be complete however without a visit to the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk the father of modern Turkey. The mausoleum which overlooks the city includes an interesting museum detailing Ataturk’s life.

With all its qualities, Anitkabir is one of the finest examples of architecture of its era, covering approximately 750,000 square metres. It is divided into two parts as The Peace Park and The Monument Block.

The Peace Park

Inspired by Atatürk's famous phrase "Peace at home, peace in the world", Anıtkabir rises above in the Peace Park, formed with plants received from all over the world and Turkey. Many plants and trees are brought in or sent from Afghanistan, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, USA, United Kingdom and former Yugoslavia. Today, in Peace Park there are more than 50 thousand trees and ornamental plants of 104 different species and origins.

The Monument Block

Anıtkabir Monument Block has three sections:

    * The Mausoleum
    * The Lions Road
    * The Ceremonial Ground

The Mausoleum

The most prominent part of Anıtkabir is The Mausoleum. The dais for the speakers are positioned in the centre of the 42 step ground stairs leading up to The Mausoleum. In front of this marble dais, which is facing the ceremonial ground and decorated with circular geometric patterns, Atatürk's saying "Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the nation." are inscribed.

The Mausoleum with the dimensions 75 x 52 x 17 m. has a rectangular plan and is surrounded by 8 columns at the front and near facades, and 14 columns at the sides, each one is 14.40 m. high.

The grave room is situated right under the symbolic tomb stone placed in the first floor of The Mausoleum, and Atatürk's corpse is buried in the ground floor of The Mausoleum. It has an octagonal plan in Seljuk and Ottoman architectural styles, and its pyramidal ceiling is decorated with mosaics in geometrical patterns. Floor and walls are paved and clad with red, black and white marbles. In the middle of the grave room is the marble sarcophagus aligned towards the south, in the direction of Mecca. Brass cups containing soil from all provinces of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are placed around the marble sarcophagus.


The Lions Road

This 262 m. long pedestrian alley was designed to brace visitors for Atatürk's great presence, and as such, has 24 lion statues in seating position at both sides. The lion statues, made in the old Anatolian civilization Hittite art style, symbolize power and peace.


The Ceremonial Ground

The Ceremonial Ground is situated at the end of the Lions Road. The Ground is 129 m. long and 84 m. wide, and can accommodate 15,000 people. The Ground's floor is decorated with 373 rug and kilim patterns, and was made of travertine in various colours.