The Burhaniye Atatürk Monument was a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

Atatürk sculpture by

Gürdal Duyar Gürdal Duyar (20 August 1935 – 18 April 2004) was a Turkish sculptor who is known for his monuments to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk and his Bust (sculpture), busts of famous people. His art is characterized as having a Modern sculpture, ...

in Edremit,

Burhaniye Burhaniye is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 420 km2, and its population is 64,283 (2022). It is located on the Aegean coast and is known for its olive oil. Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport is ten minu ...

, Turkey. It represents the events around the struggles of the

Kuva-yi Milliye The Kuva-yi Milliye (; 'National Forces' or 'Nationalist Forces') were irregular Turkish militia forces active in the early period of the Turkish War of Independence. These irregular forces emerged after the occupation of the parts of Turkey by t ...

during the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

Description

The sculpture depicts Atatürk standing and looking forward. His left arm is open and extended slightly backwards and down beside him with his hand at about hip-height; which is open and has the fingers spread out. His right hand is closed and over his heart in the middle of his chest. The sculpture was tall and was made of

. Through the sculpture Gürdal Duyar tells a story of the many legendary events during the national struggle of the

during the

. It is noted that tourists would often take a break at the sculpture and take photos of it. The sculpture became loved by many people of Burhaniye. One of these people was an old gardener who brought back seeds from

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and planted red, pink, marbled and white

poppies Poppies can refer to: *Poppy, a flowering plant *The Poppies (disambiguation) - multiple uses *''Poppies (film)'' - Children's BBC remembrance animation *Poppies (Mary Oliver poem), ''Poppies'' (poem) - a poem by Mary Oliver *"Poppies", a song by P ...

that surpassed knee height. Poppies are also symbolic as a flower to remember the dead of war with.

History

The sculpture was to be erected in Edremit,

. The area where the sculpture was to be erected was designed by E. Demirok. The sculpture was inaugurated in 1967.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority Control 1967 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Turkey Monuments and memorials to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey Outdoor sculptures in Turkey Sculptures by Gürdal Duyar Sculptures of men in Turkey