The Presidential Complex ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi) is the presidential residence of the

Republic of 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 complex is located in the Beştepe neighborhood 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 ...

, inside the Atatürk Forest Farm. In accordance with President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

's "New Turkey" concept, it was envisaged that the Çankaya Presidential Mansion would become the prime ministerial complex and the president would move to the newly built palace. It was formally inaugurated as the

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the president by Erdoğan on the country's

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

, 29 October 2014. President Erdoğan proposed to call the new presidential residence ''Cumhurbaşkanlığı

Külliye A külliye ( ota, كلية) is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa ("c ...

si'', referring to a traditional complex centered on a mosque. This was formally adopted as the residence's official name on 3 July 2015. The building cost was double the initial estimate of more than US$600 million. The Presidential Complex is home to the country's largest library with five million books.

History

The ground plan for the Presidential Complex started in 2011. The

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

decided that the Gazi compound should be turned into an "Urban Transformation and Development Project Area" for the purpose of constructing a Prime Ministry Building in 2012. Soon after, the construction of the project started with the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, the Ministry of Forestry, the Housing Development Administration TOKİ,

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality 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, makin ...

and the Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board. On September 2, 2014, it was announced that the complex will function as the

of the Turkish Presidency, and that the

Çankaya Mansion The Çankaya Mansion (in Turkish: ''Çankaya Köşkü'') is the official residence of the vice president of Turkey, and previously the official residence of the president of Turkey from 1923 to 2014. The property is located in the Çankaya d ...

(the previous Presidential residence) will serve as the official residence of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. The inaugural opening of the complex was on the 91st anniversary of the founding of the republic of Turkey on October 29, 2014. The complex was bombed on 15 July 2016 as part of the failed coup d'état attempt.

Design influences

The buildings inside the complex are designed in accordance with

Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...

and Ottoman architectural traits, forming a synthesis. According to Turkish media, the design of one of the offices is based on the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

’s

oval office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

Construction

The building was constructed inside the Atatürk Forest Farm (AOÇ), which was established by

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

in 1925. In 1937, President Atatürk, acting as the '' Mareşal'', donated the farm to the state. In 1992 the farm was designated a first-degree protected site meaning that no construction should be done within its territory. On 4 March 2014, an administrative court in Ankara ordered the suspension of the palace's construction. The suspension order was supported by the

Turkish Council of State The Council of State ( tr, Danıştay) is the highest administrative court in the Republic of Turkey and is located in Ankara. Its role and tasks are prescribed by the Constitution of Turkey within the articles on the supreme courts. According to ...

on 13 March. Erdoğan ignored the decision, saying "Let them tear it down if they can. They ordered suspension, yet they can't stop the construction of this building. I'll be opening it; I'll be moving in and using it". Finance minister

Mehmet Şimşek Mehmet Şimşek (born 1 January 1967) is a Turkish politician and economist who served as a Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey from 24 November 2015 until the office's abolition on 9 July 2018. He previously served as the Minister of Finance from 2 ...

, quoted by Turkey's ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is one of the major Turkish newspapers, founded in 1948. , it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook. ''Hürriyet ...

'' newspaper, said the construction cost of the palace would be 1.37bn ($615m), most of which had already been spent, but another $135m had been budgeted for it in 2015. In December 2014, Turkey's state-owned Housing Development Administration (

TOKİ TOKİ ( tr, Toplu Konut İdaresi Başkanlığı, literally "Mass Housing Development Administration") is Turkey's government-backed housing agency. Founded in 1984, TOKİ carries out projects and activities primarily throughout Turkey in line w ...

) refused to divulge the actual construction cost on the grounds that releasing the information could hurt Turkey's economy, citing Article 17 of the Law on the Provision of Information. Tezcan Candan, head of the Turkish Chamber of Architects' Ankara branch, said the final cost could be over 5 billion lira. The government has been criticised for the presidential palace due to its high cost and lavish furnishings. Opposition parties have ramped up their objection to Turkey's presidential palace, set to cost more than half a billion US dollars. The complex was pejoratively called ''Ak Saray'' (meaning "White Palace") as a reference to Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP). Due to its construction being barred by the courts yet continuing regardless and alleged corruption, it is regularly referred to by some opposition politicians and supporters as the ''Kaçak Saray'' (meaning "Illegal Palace"). According to the Ankara branch of the Chamber of Architects, the cost of the imported window glass is more than TL 700 million. The figure, based on estimates provided by glass suppliers on the cost of glass with similar qualities, is about half of the total official cost of the entire palace, TL 1.37 billion. There was also controversy due to the extensive use of imported marble at Euro 3,000 per square meter. According to a statement released by the Ankara branch of the

Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects ( tr, Türk Mühendis ve Mimar Odaları Birliği, TMMOB for short) is a confederation of all chambers of architects and engineers in Turkey. The union was "established in 1954 by the Law 7 ...

(TMMOB), Bizassa marble imported from Italy will be used to decorate pools, bathhouses, saunas, and spas within the palace. The presidential palace had a natural gas bill of TL 2.4 million between October 2014 and May 2015, according to records released to the public. TMMOB also claims that 63 elevators and a number of carpets in the palace cost a total of TL 31.2 million, while gold-inlaid glasses found at the palace reportedly cost TL 1,000 each. Critics call the lavishness a waste of budgetary funds while Erdoğan has shrugged off the criticism, insisting that the palace, which he said will be called the "Presidential Complex," boosts Turkey's reputation. On 10 July 2015, the Turkish Council of State found that the construction of the palace violated the law and ordered it to be vacated. However, the Presidency has stated that the decision is '' ultra-vires'', citing Article 105(2) of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, which reads "No appeal shall be made to any judicial authority, including the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

, against the decisions and orders signed by the President of the Republic on his/her own initiative".

First guests

The inaugural opening of the presidential residence was on the 91st anniversary of the Republic. On the occasion of the celebrations of the

, the president welcomed officials of all branches of the government.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

was the first

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

hosted at the new Presidential Palace on 28 November 2014, during his visit to Turkey. Turkish architects had called on the Pope not to attend the ceremony at the "unlicensed" Presidential Complex. On 1 December 2014, Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

was the second foreign guest welcomed with a ceremony in front of the new palace.

Buildings in the Presidential Complex

The complex consists of the main building and two support buildings to be used for meetings with visiting heads of state and dignitaries. It covers an area of . Inspired by

Seljuk architecture Seljuk architecture comprises the building traditions that developed under the Seljuk dynasty, when it ruled most of the Middle East and Anatolia during the 11th to 13th centuries. The Great Seljuk Empire (11th-12th centuries) contributed si ...

, the Presidential Complex has guesthouses, a botanical garden, a situation room with satellite and military communications systems, bunkers able to withstand biological, nuclear and chemical weapons attack, a park and a congress center. The complex employs high security measures with additional insulation against

wiretapping Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

. To prevent the planting of bugs, one of the offices in the complex has no electrical outlets.

Şefik Birkiye Şefik Birkiye (born 1954) is a Turkish-Belgian architect who has designed buildings in Brussels, France, Switzerland, Monaco, the United States, and Turkey. He is the founder of Vizzion Architects, a team which has been designing architecture in ...

was the lead architect of the complex.

Main buildings

Known as the Cumhurbaşkanlığı Sarayı, the Presidential Palace is the main building(s) of the Presidential Complex. Working Office for the president is situated in this building. The Palace has at least 1,150 rooms, and a laboratory to detect nuclear, biological and chemical hazards which may be used as an attack against the President.

Beştepe Millet Mosque

Located in the Presidential Complex, the mosque was opened to worship on July 3, 2015 with the participation of President

. The mosque has a capacity of roughly 3 thousand people to worship at the same time. The area of the mosque and its surroundings cover . There are 4

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

s and the height of each minaret is . It reflects Turkish and Ottoman architecture.

Presidential Library

The Nation's Library of the Presidency ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Millet Kütüphanesi) also referred to as the Presidential Library by common people, is the largest library in Turkey, with a collection of over four million books in 134 different languages, and 120 million articles and reports. The Presidential Library, which has the largest incipient collection in the world, was officially inaugurated by President

on February 20, 2020. In addition to receiving a copy of materials printed in the country, as a

depository library Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...

, the Presidential Library also receives books, in collaboration with the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, from every country where Turkey has a diplomatic mission. It is home to the ', the first comprehensive dictionary of

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...

, compiled in 1072–74 by the Turkic scholar

Mahmud Kashgari Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammed al-Kashgari, ''Maḥmūd ibnu 'l-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Kāšġarī'', , tr, Kaşgarlı Mahmûd, ug, مەھمۇد قەشقىرى, ''Mehmud Qeshqiri'' / Мәһмуд Қәшқири uz, Mahmud Qashg'ariy / М ...

,Kemal H. Karpat, ''Studies on Turkish Politics and Society:Selected Articles and Essays'', (Brill, 2004), 441. among many other manuscripts and rare books.

Presidential Residence

The Presidential Residence inside the complex, is the official residence of the

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national govern ...

. Before the building was completed, the presidents were using the

as the residence.

15 July Martyrs' Monument

The monument opposite the complex was built by the

to symbolize the July 15 Military Coup attempt. The monument was opened on 16 July 2017 with the participation of President

. It consists of a total of 4 parts: ''one nation'', ''one state'', ''one homeland'' and ''one flag''. The height of the monument is and its total area is . There are 7 human figures representing the citizens of 81 provinces, who fled to the streets on July 15. 7 people represent 7 geographical regions of Turkey. In the ''one homeland'' section, the names of 81 provinces are written.

C4I bunker

The Presidential Palace complex is said to contain a top secret special operations command and control center housed in a secure bunker. The center has a 143 screen visual command center which correlates data obtained from UAVs, MOBESE CCTV, TV and 3G transmissions from all 81 provinces of Turkey. The Gendarmerie, Disasters and Emergencies Management Directorate, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), Turkish Armed Forces and MIT can provide live feeds to the Presidential Command Center. All data is archived in two special supercomputer servers to enable intelligence agencies to track back the paths of suspects. The Palace C4I system can target, track and follow individuals based on bio-metrics and any 2D image of the target being uploaded into the system.

Gallery

File:Secretary Tillerson Meets With Turkish President Erdoğan and Turkish Foreign Minister and Çavusoğlu (25430219527).jpg, Presidential working room File:Pedro Sánchez visiting Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey (3).jpg, Meeting room Library_Main_Hall.jpg, Presidential Library Library_-_Main_Hall_Roof.jpg, Presidential Library Presidential_Palace_Mosque_Interior.jpg, Interior of the Beştepe Millet Mosque 15_July_Monument.jpg, 15 July Monument 15_July_Monument2.jpg, 15 July Monument

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Presidential Complex of Turkey Presidential palaces in Turkey Buildings and structures in Ankara Government buildings completed in 2014 2014 establishments in Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan controversies Yenimahalle, Ankara