Mehmetçik Monument (Kartaltepe Mehmetçik Monument) is a monumental sculpture featuring a Turkish soldier on Kartaltepe of Polatlı, a rural area of Ankara Province,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The name of the monument ''Mehmetçik'' is the diminutive form of the common name Mehmet, which is used to nickname Turkish soldiers.

Location

The sculpture is situated on top of the Kartaltepe hill just west of Polatlı and west of

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

at . It is to the south of the Turkish state highway , which connects west

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

to Ankara. Turkish high speed train railway route passes through a tunnel under Kartaltepe.

Gordion Gordion ( Phrygian: ; el, Γόρδιον, translit=Górdion; tr, Gordion or ; la, Gordium) was the capital city of ancient Phrygia. It was located at the site of modern Yassıhüyük, about southwest of Ankara (capital of Turkey), in the ...

the historical capital of

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

is about to the north.

History

The monument was sponsored by the

Koç Holding Koç Holding A.Ş. () is the largest industrial conglomerate in Turkey, and the only company in the country to be listed on the Fortune Global 500 as of 2016. The company, headquartered in Nakkaştepe, Istanbul, is controlled by the Koç family, ...

and

Tüpraş Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri A.Ş. is a company in Turkey, operating four refineries with a total capacity to handle an annual 30 mn tons of crude. Introduction Tüpraş operates four oil refineries, three of which process imported crude. The 11 ...

company.Tüpraş news

Binali Yıldırım Binali Yıldırım (; born 20 December 1955) is a Turkish politician who served as the 27th and last Prime Minister of Turkey from 2016 to 2018 and Speaker of the Grand National Assembly from 2018 to 2019. He was Leader of the Justice and Dev ...

, the Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication, Yaşar Büyükanıt, the

Chief of the Turkish General Staff , body = , flag = Standard of General staff of Turkish Armed Forces.svg , flagsize = 125px , flagcaption = Flag of the Chief of the General Staff , insignia = Turkey-army-OF-9.svg , insigniasize = 50px , insigniacaption = Shoulder insigni ...

, the sponsor Mustafa Koç as well as a group of MPs and the mayor of Polatlı were present in the opening ceremony on 6 August 2008.Tekta company news
/ref> It is further planned to establish a museum about the Battle of Sakarya next to the monument.

Monument

The

Battle of Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya ( tr, Sakarya Meydan Muharebesi, lit=Sakarya Field Battle), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios ( el, Μάχη του Σαγγαρίου, Máchi tou Sangaríou), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish Wa ...

was one of the most important milestones in the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). During the 22–day battle, the Greek army advanced as far as Kartaltepe hill. But during the counterattack of the Turkish forces, the Greek offence was checked. This was a critical turning point. One year later, the Greek army fell back and last of the Greek forces withdrew from

. The monument was erected to commemorate the turning point of the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

at this site. The monument is actually a tall sculpture of a soldier in 1921–uniform with a rifle in the right hand and raising the left hand as a gesture to halt the Greek advance. It is placed on a -high base. It is created by Prof. Sait Rüstem and made of copper-coated concrete. It was constructed by TEKTA Eng. Consulting Cons. & Trade Ltd. Co.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehmetcik Monument 2008 establishments in Turkey Buildings and structures completed in 2008 Turkish War of Independence Buildings and structures in Ankara Province Monuments and memorials in Turkey Copper sculptures in Turkey Polatlı Concrete sculptures in Turkey Sculptures of men in Turkey