|
The beloved body of Atat�rk is in a grave dug directly below the ground floor of the Mausoleum. The tomb room, which is just beneath the symbolic sarcophagus in the Hall of Honor on the first floor of the Mausoleum, has an octagonic structure as in the Seljuk and Ottoman architectural style and its pyramidal ceiling is decorated with mosaics in geometrical motifs. The floor and walls are covered with black, white and red marble. In the centre of the tomb room and around the red marble tomb facing the direction of the Kaaba, there are brass vases which contain soil samples from all provinces of Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan. Atat�rk passed away on November 10, 1938. The construction of An�tkabir was completed in 1953. The beloved body of Atat�rk was temporarily kept in the Ethnography Museum during this period. For preservation purposes, "tahnit" (conservation) was applied to the corpse of Atat�rk by the professors of the G�lhane Military Medical Science Faculty. In this operation, a kind of chemical substance was injected into the corpse of Atat�rk so it would not decay. Immediately after the operation, his body was placed in a coffin made of silver and was put into another coffin made of rosewood. Exactly 15 years later, on November 9, 1953 his coffin was opened by a committee presided by Prof. Dr. Kamile �evki Mutlu and it was seen that Atat�rk's body had not decayed in any way. The beloved body of Atat�rk was buried into this tomb room in An�tkabir in accordance with Islamic traditions. His saying "My mortal body will turn into dust, but the Turkish Republic will last forever" was regarded as a will after the assassination attempt to Mustafa Kemal in �zmir in 1926. Accordingly, his body was buried in a mixture of soil brought from the 67 provinces of the time, Atat�rk's House in Salonica, the Turkish Martyrdom in Korea, Cyprus and the Grave of Suleyman Shah. In fact, as �smet �n�n� said, he rests in "the brave and faithful bosom of the Turkish People, who are full of love for him and proud of him".
|
