Turkish State Cemetery

Turkish State Cemetery
The Turkish State Cemetery 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 administrated 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.
Presidents
Cemal Gürsel, 4th president
Cevdet Sunay, 5th president
Fahri Korutürk, 6th president
Kenan Evren, 7th president
Prime Ministers
Bülent Ecevit, 16th prime minister
Yıldırım Akbulut, 20th prime minister
Speakers of the Parliament
Ferruh Bozbeyli, 10th speaker
Sabit Osman Avcı, 12th speaker
Kemal Güven, 13th speaker
İsmet Sezgin, 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 (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 the Türbe of Hüseyin Şeyh, 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
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, mirliva 1927
Alâattin Koval, mirliva 1927
Osman Zati Koral, mirliva 1926
Ahmet Zeki Soydemir, mirliva 1927
Nazif Kayacık, 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, 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, miralay 1922
Mehmet Nuri Conker, miralay 1920
Ahmet Fuat Bulca, miralay 1924
Mahmut Nedim Hendek, kaymakam 1922
Spouses of prime ministers
Rahşan Ecevit
See also
List of national cemeteries by country
List of high-ranking commanders of the Turkish War of Independence
References
External links
State Cemetery official website
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