Ulucanlar Prison Museum

The Ulucanlar Prison Museum (Turkish: Ulucanlar Cezaevi Müzesi) is a former state prison in Ankara, Turkey, that was converted into a prison museum following restoration by Altındağ Municipality. The museum was opened in 2011. It is the first museum of its kind in Turkey.

History

Ulucanlar Prison was established in 1925 in the Ulucanlar neighborhood of Altındağ district in Ankara, which had recently become the new capital of the Turkish Republic.

The facility was built as a military depot in 1923, on an area of 34,000 m2 (370,000 sq ft). In its history, it was renamed several times and called "Cebeci Tevkifhanesi" (Cebeci Jail), "Cebeci Umumi Hapishanesi" (Cebeci Public Prison), "Cebeci Sivil Cezaevi" (Cebeci Civilian Prison), "Ankara Merkez Kapalı Cezaevi" (Ankara Central Closed Prison) and finally "Ulucanlar Merkez Kapalı Cezaevi" (Ulucanlar Central Closed Prison).

The correction and detention facilities in Turkey are officially categorized in three security level groups as closed (Turkish: kapalı), semi-open (Turkish: yarı açık) and open (Turkish: açık) prisons. Closed prisons are maximum security penitentiaries with external and internal control that hold violent prisoners and those judged most likely to escape. Semi-open prisons are medium security correctional institutions without external control but with only internal physical barriers that house prisoners bearing a moderate escape risk who also have a job. Open prisons are low security, work-oriented prison camps with no external control and internal physical barriers that hold inmates who are allowed to have limited interaction with the public. As of September 1999, the mixed-sex prison hosted 776 detainees and prisoners held in nineteen wards in the close and semi-open prison sections. The prison's healthcare facility had a capacity of forty beds.

Several prison riots broke out in July, September and December 1999. Ten inmates died and at least 28 were injured in the September riot while three men's wards and some of the women's wards were destroyed. At this time, an incomplete escape tunnel was discovered. Radio journalist Füsun Erdoğan was arrested while covering a press release regarding these events.

In 2006, the inmates of the closed prison section were transferred to a newly built prison in Sincan, Ankara. The evacuation of the semi-open prison section took place later.

Notable inmates

During its 81-year existence, Ulucanlar Prison held notable intellectuals with different political views including journalists, poets, and writers, as well as professional politicians alongside political activists and criminals. Among the notable people who were detained or imprisoned (not including executions) were:

Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın (1875–1957), journalist, writer and politician

Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (1890–1973), novelist, short-story writer, essayist, ethnographer and travel writer

Nazım Hikmet (1902–1963) poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist

Necip Fazıl Kısakürek (1904–1983), poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher and activist

Kemal Tahir (1910-1973), novelist and scholar

Osman Bölükbaşı (1913–2002), politician, party leader

Osman Yüksel Serdengeçti (1917–1983), journalist and politician

Yaşar Kemal (1923-2015), writer and human rights activist

Metin Toker (1924-2002), journalist and writer

Bülent Ecevit (1925–2006), poet, writer, journalist, social-democratic politician and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey

Cüneyt Arcayürek (1928-2015), journalist and writer

Fakir Baykurt (1929–1999), educator, writer and labor union leader

Yılmaz Güney (1937–1984), film director, scenarist, novelist and actor

Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu (1954–2009), right-wing, nationalist-Islamist politician

Hatip Dicle (1954- ), Kurdish politician

Leyla Zana (1961- ), Kurdish politician and activist

Sırrı Süreyya Önder (1962–2025), film director, actor, screenwriter, columnist and politician

The prison was also the site of torture and cruelty as well as many prison riots and executions.

Executions

Nineteen executions took place in the prison yard by hanging. Among the notable inmates sentenced to capital punishment and executed were:

İskilipli Âtıf Hodja (1875–1926), As an Islamist scholar supported British invasion in local newspaper "Alemdar" that he was publishing

Yusuf Aslan (1947–1972), Marxist–Leninist revolutionary and political activist (executed)

Deniz Gezmiş (1947–1972), Marxist–Leninist revolutionary and political activist

Hüseyin İnan (1949–1972), Marxist–Leninist revolutionary and armed political activist

Necdet Adalı (1958–1980), Marxist–Leninist revolutionary and political activist

Mustafa Pehlivanoğlu (1958–1980), right-wing, nationalist-Islamist activist

Erdal Eren (1964–1980), Marxist–Leninist revolutionary and political activist (executed)

Restoration

The prison facility was officially declared a building of historic interest which could not, for that reason, be demolished, extended, or altered without special permission. Altındağ Municipality restored the prison building to its original form and opened it to the public as a museum in July 2011.