Anitkabir is Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s final resting place. The site itself is massive, with a 260 meter path lined with lion statues based on Hittite art and a ceremonial plaza that can accommodate more than 10,000 people. Inside Anitkabir you can see Ataturk’s symbolic tomb (the actual tomb is below on a lower level not open to the public). Before Anitkabir was completed, Ataturk was buried in the courtyard of Ankara’s Ethnographic Museum where you’ll find this commemorative marble memorial.
Admission to Anitkabir is free but you’ll want to avoid Turkish national holidays since the crowds can be overwhelming. In addition to the tomb inside the Hall Of Honor, you can watch a changing of the guard each hour in the ceremonial plaza. I’ve visited Anitkabir many times since I was a child and have enjoyed the recent addition of a museum which I highly recommend. Ataturk’s words along the hallways as you exit are especially insightful.
You can browse through my pictures from Anitkabir and Ankara and afterward find out why Ataturk’s image is everywhere in Turkey.