A catalogue of nationalist monuments
Before starting to interpret the July 15 monuments around Turkey and the previous nationalistic monuments on D-100 Highway axis, it is necessary to figure out when the tradition of erecting monuments (as nationalist/state monuments) begun in Ottoman Empire and how did it transform after Kemalist revolution and the death of Ataturk. Because of the sculpture ban in Islam, it was impossible for the Ottoman Empire to erect monuments in public spaces. However, in parallel with modernization movements of the empire, two Tanzimat monuments were designed and one of them was built for 1855 Paris Exhibition even if it was not installed in a public square. Between Tanzimat Monuments and Ataturk Monuments (1855-1926) five Ur-Nationalist (acikla--goethe, archetyp..) monuments are erected:
Abide-i Hurriyet (1911/Istanbul-Mimar Muzaffer) is the first monument which is erected in a public place (although far away from the historical center and in the periphery) in 1911. It's considered as the first nationalist monument commemorating the soldiers killed in the March 31 events and celebrating the second constitutional era. It's also the starter of the unofficial CUP cemetery which will continue to extend until 2009, a time span of almost one century.
Tayyare Sehitleri Abidesi (1914/Istanbul-Mimar Vedat) which is again one of the earliest modern and nationalist monuments, which commemorates the accidental death of the air force soldiers using the term "sehid", which will become a nationalist 'mythical' dispositive of the Turkish state in the future (Degirmencioglu?).
The bust of Osman Gazi (1915-16/Sivas-Keverek) is also one of the significant monuments because of being the first figurative public monument in Ottoman Empire. It was erected by Ahmed Muammer [Kardas], the wali of Sivas (Kreiser,1997) and used by Mustafa Kemal as an example in his 1923 Bursa Speech (together with the monuments in Egypt) in order to support the idea that erecting monuments is not in conflict with Islam. However it was destroyed in 1936-37 by the new Vali of Sivas and the bust was submitted to the city museum in 1943 (Avci&Avci,2017; Tekiner, 2014).[according to Tekiner it is unknown who destroyed the bust. While Tekiner references to Elibal,1979; Avci&Avci reference to Ergin, 1950]
Agricultural Monument (1916, Konya-Muzaffer Bey) was not designed as a nationalist monument but as one celebrating the agricultural wealth of Konya without figurative elements. However, ten years later it was used as a base for the second Ataturk Monument of the new regime. So, this monument is in fact two opposite monuments on top of each other and it might be interpreted as the materialization of the ongoing debate: is Kemalist revolution an antithesis to the Ottoman Empire and a break with it or is it a radical continuation of the same modernization process. An Ottoman Agriculture Monument with non-figurative Seljuk motives and a Turkish Victory Monument with a statue of Mustafa Kemal in military costumes might be a perfect example for a dialectical image showing a constellation.
The last monument is the Sehit Sancaktar or the Unknown Soldier Monument (1924-1927, Kutahya-Mimar Hikmet&Tasci Kadri) whose foundation was laid by Mustafa Kemal and his wife Latife Hanim in the Battle Field to celebrate the first 30th August Bayram in 1924. It's important again for using the term "sehid" and being an example for the European unknown soldier tradition.(acikla neymis)
[Victory Bayram (the 30th of August) was declared on the 1st of April 1926 with the law number 795. The program of the celebration and the military ceremony were proposed by the National Defense Ministry on the 24th of August 1926 and accepted by Gazi Mustafa Kemal and the cabinet. The first celebration of the 30th August was performed in Dumlupınar, Çay Village in 1924 before the legislation. (Ozdemir, 2004)]
The Ataturk Monuments start with Krippel's monument in Sarayburnu/Istanbul (1926) and continue until today. In order to create a catalogue, I used two main sources. Metin Sozen's list of Republican Period Monuments between 1926-1977 (Milliyet,1982) and Huseyin Gezer's chronology between 1926-1983 (Gezer,1984). Incorrect information about 30 monuments were found in Sozen's list, which is corrected by other sources. In comparison with Sozen's list, 105 monuments were missing in Gezer's chronology and 28 monuments were listed in addition. After corrections in time and place through cross-check, a list of 175 monuments was produced for a time span between 1926-1982. This list excludes replicated Ataturk monuments [Tekiner(2014) provides three lists of replicated monuments belonging to Necati Ince,Tankut Oktem and Metin Yurdanur], monuments in non-public places, busts, reliefs and artistic statues with no intention of public commemoration.
Abide-i Hurriyet (1911/Istanbul-Mimar Muzaffer) is the first monument which is erected in a public place (although far away from the historical center and in the periphery) in 1911. It's considered as the first nationalist monument commemorating the soldiers killed in the March 31 events and celebrating the second constitutional era. It's also the starter of the unofficial CUP cemetery which will continue to extend until 2009, a time span of almost one century.
Tayyare Sehitleri Abidesi (1914/Istanbul-Mimar Vedat) which is again one of the earliest modern and nationalist monuments, which commemorates the accidental death of the air force soldiers using the term "sehid", which will become a nationalist 'mythical' dispositive of the Turkish state in the future (Degirmencioglu?).
The bust of Osman Gazi (1915-16/Sivas-Keverek) is also one of the significant monuments because of being the first figurative public monument in Ottoman Empire. It was erected by Ahmed Muammer [Kardas], the wali of Sivas (Kreiser,1997) and used by Mustafa Kemal as an example in his 1923 Bursa Speech (together with the monuments in Egypt) in order to support the idea that erecting monuments is not in conflict with Islam. However it was destroyed in 1936-37 by the new Vali of Sivas and the bust was submitted to the city museum in 1943 (Avci&Avci,2017; Tekiner, 2014).[according to Tekiner it is unknown who destroyed the bust. While Tekiner references to Elibal,1979; Avci&Avci reference to Ergin, 1950]
Agricultural Monument (1916, Konya-Muzaffer Bey) was not designed as a nationalist monument but as one celebrating the agricultural wealth of Konya without figurative elements. However, ten years later it was used as a base for the second Ataturk Monument of the new regime. So, this monument is in fact two opposite monuments on top of each other and it might be interpreted as the materialization of the ongoing debate: is Kemalist revolution an antithesis to the Ottoman Empire and a break with it or is it a radical continuation of the same modernization process. An Ottoman Agriculture Monument with non-figurative Seljuk motives and a Turkish Victory Monument with a statue of Mustafa Kemal in military costumes might be a perfect example for a dialectical image showing a constellation.
The last monument is the Sehit Sancaktar or the Unknown Soldier Monument (1924-1927, Kutahya-Mimar Hikmet&Tasci Kadri) whose foundation was laid by Mustafa Kemal and his wife Latife Hanim in the Battle Field to celebrate the first 30th August Bayram in 1924. It's important again for using the term "sehid" and being an example for the European unknown soldier tradition.(acikla neymis)
[Victory Bayram (the 30th of August) was declared on the 1st of April 1926 with the law number 795. The program of the celebration and the military ceremony were proposed by the National Defense Ministry on the 24th of August 1926 and accepted by Gazi Mustafa Kemal and the cabinet. The first celebration of the 30th August was performed in Dumlupınar, Çay Village in 1924 before the legislation. (Ozdemir, 2004)]
The Ataturk Monuments start with Krippel's monument in Sarayburnu/Istanbul (1926) and continue until today. In order to create a catalogue, I used two main sources. Metin Sozen's list of Republican Period Monuments between 1926-1977 (Milliyet,1982) and Huseyin Gezer's chronology between 1926-1983 (Gezer,1984). Incorrect information about 30 monuments were found in Sozen's list, which is corrected by other sources. In comparison with Sozen's list, 105 monuments were missing in Gezer's chronology and 28 monuments were listed in addition. After corrections in time and place through cross-check, a list of 175 monuments was produced for a time span between 1926-1982. This list excludes replicated Ataturk monuments [Tekiner(2014) provides three lists of replicated monuments belonging to Necati Ince,Tankut Oktem and Metin Yurdanur], monuments in non-public places, busts, reliefs and artistic statues with no intention of public commemoration.
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