The Turkish State Cemetery () is a national and military cemetery in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, containing the graves of the presidents of Turkey and the high-ranked, close companions-in-arms of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

, the founder of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, in the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

History

The cemetery was established upon an act dated November 10, 1981. It is situated around the "''Karadeniz Havuzu''" (Black Sea Pool) on the grounds of the historical "''Atatürk Orman Çiftliği''" (Atatürk Forest Ranch) in Ankara. The architect Özgür Ecevit and the agronomist Ekrem Gürenli, who won the contest organized by the Ministry of National Defense in 1982, designed the state cemetery. It was opened on August 30, 1988 with a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

ceremony for the transferred bodies of two presidents,

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (9 June 1894 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish military officer and politician who was the fourth president of Turkey, serving from 1960 to 1966 after taking power in a coup d'état. Early life Gürsel was born in the town ...

and

Cevdet Sunay Ahmet Cevdet Sunay (10 February 1899 – 22 May 1982) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the fifth president of Turkey from 1966 to 1973. Early life and career Sunay was born in 1899 in the village of Ataköy nea ...

, and of 61 commanders of the War of Independence. At the opening ceremony were present, President

Kenan Evren Ahmet Kenan Evren (17 July 1917 – 9 May 2015) was a Turkish military officer and dictator who served as the seventh president of Turkey from 1980 to 1989. He assumed the post by leading the 1980 military coup. On 18 June 2014, a Turkish cou ...

, Prime Minister

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, bureaucrat, engineer and statesman who served as the eighth president of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th prime minister of Turkey from 1983 ...

, and leaders of the political parties represented in the parliament,

Erdal İnönü Erdal İnönü (6 June 1926 – 31 October 2007) was a Turkish theoretical physicist and politician who served as the interim prime minister of Turkey between 16 May and 25 June 1993. He also served as the deputy prime minister of Turkey from 1 ...

( SHP) and

Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...

( DYP), and members of the President's Council. The cemetery is administered by the Ministry of National Defense.

The memorial park

It is memorial park with an area of 536,000 m² open to the public, of which 180,000 m² is planned and the remaining is green area. The Black Sea Pool, built in 1931 by the order of Atatürk, was restored during the establishment of the state cemetery. The surrounding area of the pool serves today as a recreational park. A road within the cemetery flanked by marble sculptures, called "''Cumhuriyet Tarihi Yolu''" (History of the Republic Road), is dedicated to the milestones in the era of the rebirth of the nation. This collection of artworks features the first-ever large-scale sculpture arrangement in Turkey. The road starts with a statue symbolizing the beginning of the War of Independence by landing Atatürk’s in

Samsun Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

on May 19, 1919. Sculptures remembering the congresses in

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

and

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

, establishment of the new parliament in Ankara follow. In the section of wars, 5 columns stand in the water with inscriptions from the "''Büyük Söylev''" (Grand Speech) of Atatürk. A sculpture erected for the Peace Treaty of Lausanne accomplishes this section. Reliefs on both sides of the road in this section describe the foundation of the regular armed forces,

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and Second İnönü Battles,

Battle of the Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya (), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios (), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The battle went on for 21 days from August 23 to September 13, 1921, close to the banks of the Sakary ...

and the

Battle of Dumlupınar The Battle of Dumlupınar (, ), or known as Field Battle of the Commander-in-Chief () in Turkey, was one of the important battles in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) (part of the Turkish War of Independence). The battle was fought from 26 ...

. The last artwork is a single abstract sculpture symbolizing the abolition of the office of

caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

by the republic. A team of Turkish sculptors led by the renowned artist Rahmi Aksungur created the artworks. File:Devlet Mezarlığı Atatürk’ün Samsun’a çıkışını ifade eden bir kaya.JPG, a statue symbolizing the beginning of the War of Independence by landing Atatürk’s in Samsun on May 19, 1919 File:Devlet mezarlığı Kongreler Bölümü.JPG, Congresses section File:Devlet mezarlığı Kongreler Bölümü 2.JPG, Congresses section File:Devlet mezarlığı Savaşlar Bölümü.JPG, Battles section File:Devlet Mezarlığı Savaşlar 2.JPG, Battles section relief File:Devlet Mezarlığı Savaşlar 3.JPG, Battles section relief File:Devlet Mezarlığı Savaşlar 4.JPG, Battles section relief File:Devlet Mezarlığı Lozan.JPG, Peace Treaty of Lausanne File:Devlet Mezarlığı Cumhuriyet.JPG, Republic File:Devlet mezarlığı heykel 1.JPG File:Devlet mezarlığı heykel 2.JPG File:Devlet mezarlığı heykel 3.JPG File:Devlet_mezarlığı_giriş.JPG, Entrance

The cemetery

A funeral ceremony place borders the graveyard, which is decorated by two sculpture groups on both sides showing scenes from the War of Independence. An

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

structure in the form of a Turkic

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...

, called "''Simge''" (Symbol), is found at the end of the ceremony place, which serves as a shelter against bright light, heat or

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. A wall under the "''Simge''" memorizes the burials with their names carved on it, and looks like an unfinished one. For every new president of Turkey, a stone is added to this "''Anısal Duvar''" (Memorial Wall) to express the continuity of the republic. A flagpole of 25 meters tall is erected in the graveyard of presidents, symbolizing the development of the republic. The state cemetery is served by the city bus line 365 from Kızılay, or public bus line 339 from Sıhhiye Bridge.

The museum

Inside the cemetery, a museum exhibits personal belongings, photos and printed media of the burials. It is open weekdays except Monday and Tuesday.

Burials

The personalities, who are entitled to be buried in the state cemetery are, according to law, state presidents and commanders of the War of Independence only. In November 2006, an act of parliament extended the list of persons to

prime ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

and speakers of the parliament to enable the burial in the state cemetery of former Prime Minister

Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in 197 ...

, who died on November 5, 2006. In January 2020, all parties agreed for burial of

Rahşan Ecevit Rahşan Ecevit (''née'' Aral, 17 December 1923 – 17 January 2020) was a Turkish author, painter and politician. She was the second lady of Turkey four times during her husband Bülent Ecevit's prime ministries. Biography She was born in Bu ...

into the state cemetery, making her the first civilian to be buried.

Presidents

, 4th president *

, 5th president *

Fahri Korutürk Fahri Sabit Korutürk (15 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish people, Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the sixth president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the List of commanders of the ...

, 6th president *

, 7th president

Prime Ministers

, 16th prime minister *

Yıldırım Akbulut Yıldırım Akbulut (; 2 September 1935 – 14 April 2021) was a Turkish politician, who was a leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP), the Prime Minister of Turkey, and twice the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. A lawyer by pr ...

, 20th prime minister

Speakers of the Parliament

Ferruh Bozbeyli Ahmet Ferruh Bozbeyli (21 January 1927 – 28 July 2019) was a Turkish politician who served as the speaker of Turkish parliament and the chairman of the Democratic party. Early life Born in Pazarcık of Kahramanmaraş Province on 21 Januar ...

, 10th speaker *

Sabit Osman Avcı Sabit Osman Avcı (1921 – February 8, 2009) was a Turkish politician, who served as government minister and the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly This article lists the speakers of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The name of t ...

, 12th speaker * Kemal Güven, 13th speaker *

İsmet Sezgin İsmet Sezgin (6 January 1928 – 7 December 2016) was a Turkish politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey and Minister of National Defense from 1997 to 1999, as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly in 1995, as the Mini ...

, 18th speaker

Commanders

The cemetery has memorials to 61 companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from the Turkish War of Independence. These memorials include one mareşal (field marshal), 11 at the rank of birinci ferik (general), 14 at the rank of ferik (lieutenant general), 20 at the rank of

mirliva ''Mirliva'' or ''Mîr-i livâ'' was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. It corresponds to brigadier general ( modern Turkish: ''Tuğgeneral'') and division general ( modern Turkish: ''Tümgeneral'') in the modern Turkish Army. ''M ...

(major general), 14 at the rank of miralay (brigadier) and one

kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by #Names, many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been reta ...

(colonel). Of the 61 tombs, 11 are empty and are just symbolic monuments. Şamil Tayyar
Ecevit’e komşu 11 boş mezar
''

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

'', November 9, 2006 #

Fevzi Çakmak Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak (12 January 1876 – 10 April 1950) was a Turkish field marshal (''Mareşal (Turkey), Mareşal'') and politician. He served as the Chief of General Staff from 1918 and 1919 and later the Imperial Government (Ottoman Empire ...

müşir () is an Arabic word meaning "counsellor" or "advisor". It is related to the word shura, meaning consultation or "taking counsel". As an official title, it historically indicates a personal advisor to the ruler. In this use it is roughly comp ...

1922 – mareşal (empty, his body lies in the

Türbe ''Türbe'' refers to a Muslim mausoleum, tomb or grave often in the Turkish-speaking areas and for the mausolea of Ottoman sultans, nobles and notables. A typical türbe is located in the grounds of a mosque or complex, often endowed by the ...

of Hüseyin Şeyh, Eyüp CemeteryDerya Sazak
Devlet Mezarlığı'nda yatan ve yatmayanlar
''Milliyet'', November 19, 2006) # Ali Fuat Cebesoy, birinci ferik 1926 (empty, his body lies in an atrium of Alifuatpaşa Merkez Camii in

Geyve Geyve is a municipality and district of Sakarya Province, Turkey. Its area is 662 km2, and its population is 50,799 (2022). The closest international airport is Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, from Geyve. It is the largest d ...

) #

Cevat Çobanlı Cevat Çobanlı (14 September 1870Mesut Aydın, ''Türkiye ve Irak Hudûdu Mes'elesi'', Avrasya Stratejik Araştırmalar Merkezi Yayınları, 2001p. 53./ref> or 1871 – 13 March 1938) was a Turkish military commander of the Ottoman Army and a ...

, birinci ferik 1926 #

Yakup Şevki Subaşı Yakup Şevki Subaşı (1876 in Harput – December 20, 1939 in Istanbul), also known as Yakub Shevki Pasha, was a general of the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army. He participated in the Defense of Gallipoli during World War I and after the ...

, birinci ferik 1926 # Fahrettin Altay, birinci ferik 1926 #

Kâzım Özalp Kâzım Özalp (17 February 1882 – 6 June 1968) was a Turkish military officer, politician, and one of the leading figures in the Turkish War of Independence. Biography Born in Köprülü (now Veles, North Macedonia), in the Kosovo Vilayet ...

, birinci ferik 1926 #

Kâzım Karabekir Musa Kâzım Karabekir (also Kazim or Kiazim in English; 1882 – 26 January 1948) was a Turkish people, Turkish general and politician. He was the commander of the Eastern Front (Turkey), Eastern Army of the Ottoman Empire during the Turkish Wa ...

, birinci ferik 1927 # İzzettin Çalışlar, birinci ferik 1930 – orgeneral #

Kâzım Orbay Mehmet Kâzım Orbay (11 March 1887 – 3 June 1964) was a Turkish general and senator. He served as the third Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. Biography Kâzım Orbay was born in Smyrna (present day: İzmir), Ottoma ...

, orgeneral 1935 # Abdurrahman Nafiz Gürman, orgeneral 1940 #

Salih Omurtak Salih Omurtak (1889 – 23 June 1954) was a Turkish people, Turkish general and the fourth List of Chief Turkish General Staff, Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. Biography He was born 1889 in Thessaloniki, in the Salonic ...

, orgeneral 1940 # Mustafa Muğlalı, orgeneral 1942 (empty) # Cemil Cahit Toydemir, orgeneral 1942 # Sabit Noyan, orgeneral 1945 #

Kâzım İnanç Kâzım İnanç (1880 – 21 September 1938) was an officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army. He was of Kurdish origin.Şükrü Naili Gökberk Şükrü Naili Gökberk (1876 in Selanik, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire – 26 October 1936 in Edirne, Turkey]) was an officer of the Ottoman Army (1861–1922), Ottoman Army during World War I, reaching the rank of miralay ( senior col ...

, ferik 1926 # Ali Hikmet Ayerdem, ferik 1926 # Kemalettin Sami Gökçen, ferik 1926 # Naci Eldeniz, ferik 1927 # Nihat Anılmış, ferik 1928 # Mehmet Kâzım Dirik, ferik 1928 # Nazmi Solok, ferik 1930 # Ahmet Naci Tınaz, ferik 1930 # Ahmet Derviş, ferik 1930 (empty) # Mehmet Kenan Dalbaşar, ferik 1931 # Ömer Halis Bıyıktay, ferik 1934 – korgeneral # Yusuf İzzet Met,

1915 (empty) #

Refet Bele Refet Bele (1881 – 3 October 1963), also known as Refet Bey or Refet Pasha was a Turkish military commander. He served in the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army, where he retired as a general. Life He was born to a Turkish family in Selanik, ...

, mirliva 1922 (empty, his body lies in Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) # Rüştü Sakarya, mirliva 1921 #

Selâhattin Âdil Selâhattin Âdil (January 19, 1882; Constantinople (Istanbul) – February 27, 1961; Istanbul) was an officer of the Ottoman Army (1861–1922), Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army. He fought in the Gallipoli Campaign during the Fir ...

, mirliva 1923 # Kâzım Sevüktekin, mirliva 1922 # Osman Nuri Koptagel, mirliva 1922 # Hüseyin Nurettin Özsu, mirliva 1922 # Mehmet Sabri Erçetin, mirliva 1922 # Mürsel Bakû, mirliva 1922 # Halit Karsıalan, mirliva 1922 # Âşir Atlı, mirliva 1925 # Akif Erdemgil, mirliva 1927 # Sıtkı Üke, mirliva 1927 # Mehmet Suphi Kula, mirliva 1927 (empty) #

Cavit Erdel Cavit Erdel (1884 – 5 March 1933) was a military officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army. See also * List of high-ranking commanders of the Turkish War of Independence This list includes high-ranking commanders who too ...

, mirliva 1927 # Alâattin Koval, mirliva 1927 # Osman Zati Koral, mirliva 1926 # Ahmet Zeki Soydemir, mirliva 1927 #

Nazif Kayacık Nazif Kayacık (1872 in Constantinople (Istanbul) – March 20, 1951 in Istanbul) was an officer of the Ottoman Army (1861–1922), Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army. Medals and decorations *Order of the Medjidie *Order of Osminieh ...

, mirliva 1928 # Mehmet Hayri Tarhan, mirliva 1929 # Münip Özsoy, miralay 1921 # Veysel Özgür, miralay 1921 (empty) # Mehmet Arif Örgüç, miralay 1921 # Şerif Yaçağaz, miralay 1921 (empty) # Ethem Servet Boral, miralay 1921 (empty) #

Ahmet Nuri Öztekin Ahmet Nuri Öztekin (1876; Bandırma – ?; ?) was an officer of the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army. Medals and decorations * Medal of Independence with Red Ribbon See also *List of high-ranking commanders of the Turkish War of Independence ...

, miralay 1921 (empty) # Mehmet Nâzım Bey, ''şehit miralay'' 1921 # Hasan Mümtaz Çeçen, miralay 1921 # Reşat Çiğiltepe, miralay 1922 # İbrahim Çolak, miralay 1922 # Mehmet Hulusi Conk, miralay 1922 #

Halit Akmansü Halit Akmansü (1883; Daday, Kastamonu Vilayet – 10 February 1953; Istanbul), also known as Dadayli Halit Bey, was an officer of the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army. Medals and decorations *Gallipoli Star * Nichan Iftikhar *Silver Medal ...

, miralay 1922 # Mehmet Nuri Conker, miralay 1920 # Ahmet Fuat Bulca, miralay 1924 # Mahmut Nedim Hendek, kaymakam 1922

Spouses of prime ministers

References

External links

State Cemetery official website
* {{authority control Cemeteries in Ankara State Cemetery Museums in Ankara National museums in Turkey Military and war museums in Turkey Turkish War of Independence Military in Ankara National cemeteries Yenimahalle, Ankara 1988 establishments in Turkey Cemeteries established in the 1980s