Turkish State Cemetery

The Turkish State Cemetery (Turkish: Devlet Mezarlığı) is a national and military cemetery in Ankara, Turkey, containing the graves of the presidents of Turkey and the high-ranked, close companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, in the Turkish War of Independence.

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 ceremony for the transferred bodies of two presidents, Cemal Gürsel and Cevdet Sunay, and of 61 commanders of the War of Independence. At the opening ceremony were present, President Kenan Evren, Prime Minister Turgut Özal, and leaders of the political parties represented in the parliament, Erdal İnönü (SHP) and Süleyman Demirel (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 on May 19, 1919. Sculptures remembering the congresses in Erzurum and Sivas, 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 and Second İnönü Battles, Battle of the Sakarya and the Battle of Dumlupınar. The last artwork is a single abstract sculpture symbolizing the abolition of the office of caliphate by the republic. A team of Turkish sculptors led by the renowned artist Rahmi Aksungur created the artworks.

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 structure in the form of a Turkic yurt, called "Simge" (Symbol), is found at the end of the ceremony place, which serves as a shelter against bright light, heat or precipitation. 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 and speakers of the parliament to enable the burial in the state cemetery of former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, who died on November 5, 2006. In January 2020, all parties agreed for burial of Rahşan Ecevit into the state cemetery, making her the first civilian to be buried.

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 (major general), 14 at the rank of miralay (brigadier) and one kaymakam (colonel). Of the 61 tombs, 11 are empty and are just symbolic monuments.

Fevzi Çakmak, müşir 1922 – mareşal (empty, his body lies in Eyüp Cemetery)

Ali Fuat Cebesoy, birinci ferik 1926 (empty, his body lies in an atrium of Alifuatpaşa Merkez Camii in Geyve)

Cevat Çobanlı, birinci ferik 1926

Yakup Şevki Subaşı, birinci ferik 1926

Fahrettin Altay, birinci ferik 1926

Kâzım Özalp, birinci ferik 1926

Kâzım Karabekir, birinci ferik 1927

İzzettin Çalışlar, birinci ferik 1930 – orgeneral

Kâzım Orbay, orgeneral 1935

Abdurrahman Nafiz Gürman, orgeneral 1940

Salih Omurtak, orgeneral 1940

Mustafa Muğlalı, orgeneral 1942 (empty)

Cemil Cahit Toydemir, orgeneral 1942

Sabit Noyan, orgeneral 1945

Kâzım İnanç, ferik 1924

Şükrü Naili Gökberk, 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, mirliva 1915 (empty)

Refet Bele, mirliva 1922 (empty, his body lies in Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı)

Rüştü Sakarya, mirliva 1921

Selâhattin Âdil, mirliva 1923

Kâzım Sevüktekin, mirliva 1922

Osman Nuri Koptagel, mirliva 1922

Hüseyin Nurettin Özsu, mirliva 1922