Last weekend two friends and I visited Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk was the first president and founder of Turkey. The museum was a short dolmuş ride from where we live, located just outside of Kızılay.

Outside the memorial was an area called Peace Park. It had really lovely landscaping and flowers:

Entrance to the mausoleum was free!

There were traditional and ceremonial guards at the entrance:

We went into the museum, but photography was not allowed. It featured items and gifts that belonged to Atatürk and had a large section about different battles in Turkey. Near the end, it had Atatürk’s library. There was so much history! I learned Atatürk adopted 13 children.

The Hall of Honor holds Atatürk’s tomb:

It was an overcast day and we got a little rain, but enjoyed checking out Anıtkabir!