Cebeci Asri Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Cebeci Asri Cemetery is a cemetery
located in the Cebeci quarter of central Ankara
, Turkey
serving multiple religions. It was the first modern burial place in the capital city, and is the final resting place of many prominent figures.
As of 2005, the total number of graves in the Cebeci Asri Cemetery was 220,000, with 121,000 for males and 99,000 for females. The burial rate was two per day. Administered by the municipality, it is the second largest cemetery in Ankara after Karşıyaka Cemetery.
s in interactive kiosk
s placed at the entrance of the cemetery
enable visitors to quickly find the location of their relatives' graves. The system also shows the shortest path to graves on a cemetery plan.
in accordance with Islamic law. Members of other religious groups, such as Jews and Christian
s, are buried in Cebeci Asri Cemetery with a north-south orientation.
Someone discovered that about ten thousand Muslims are buried with the incorrect north-south alignment. The director of cemeteries in Ankara announced that the mistake was made fifteen years ago, and could no longer be corrected. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı
, the country's highest Islamic institution, supported this determination. It ruled that correction of the orientation of the graves would be disrespectful to the dead, and therefore unnecessary.
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
located in the Cebeci quarter of central Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
serving multiple religions. It was the first modern burial place in the capital city, and is the final resting place of many prominent figures.
As of 2005, the total number of graves in the Cebeci Asri Cemetery was 220,000, with 121,000 for males and 99,000 for females. The burial rate was two per day. Administered by the municipality, it is the second largest cemetery in Ankara after Karşıyaka Cemetery.
Locating graves
In 2000, the Metropolitan Municipality of Ankara completed an information system (MEBİS) allowing visitors to search and locate a given person's grave within the three main cemeteries of Ankara. Computer terminalComputer terminal
A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that is used for entering data into, and displaying data from, a computer or a computing system...
s in interactive kiosk
Interactive kiosk
An Interactive kiosk is a computer terminal featuring specialized hardware and software designed within a public exhibit that provides access to information and applications for communication, commerce, entertainment, and education....
s placed at the entrance of the cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
enable visitors to quickly find the location of their relatives' graves. The system also shows the shortest path to graves on a cemetery plan.
Improper burials
Most graves in the cemetery have an east-west alignment, as Muslims are buried facing southeast towards MeccaMecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
in accordance with Islamic law. Members of other religious groups, such as Jews and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s, are buried in Cebeci Asri Cemetery with a north-south orientation.
Someone discovered that about ten thousand Muslims are buried with the incorrect north-south alignment. The director of cemeteries in Ankara announced that the mistake was made fifteen years ago, and could no longer be corrected. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı
Diyanet Isleri Baskanligi
In Turkey, the Presidency of Religious Affairs is an official institution established in 1924 after the abolition of the caliphate. Founded by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as a successor to Sheikh ul-Islam, it represents the highest Islamic religious authority in the country...
, the country's highest Islamic institution, supported this determination. It ruled that correction of the orientation of the graves would be disrespectful to the dead, and therefore unnecessary.
Notables in the cemetery
Listed in alphabetical order of family names.- Makbule AtadanMakbule AtadanMakbule Atadan was the sister of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. She was the only one surviving sister of Atatürk, while the other four siblings died at early ages....
(1887-1956), sister of Mustafa Kemal AtatürkMustafa Kemal AtatürkMustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey.... - Kerim Afşar (1930–2003), actor
- Erkut Akbay (?–1982), diplomat assassinated along with his wife Nadide by a car bomb at the Turkish Embassy in LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
in 1982 - Savaş Başar, actor, famous as the voice-over of Lieutenant Columbo in Turkish
- Osman Bölükbaşı (1913–2002), politician
- Mehmet Cavit BeyMehmet Cavit BeyMehmet Cavit Bey, Mehmed Cavid Bey or Mehmed Djavid Bey was an Ottoman Sabbateaneconomist, newspaper editor and leading politician during the last period of the Ottoman Empire. A member of the Committee of Union and Progress , he was part of the Young Turks and had positions in government after...
(1875-1926), economist, newspaper editor and politician - Kemal Özay Gönlüm, folk singer
- Mevhibe İnönüMevhibe İnönüMevhibe İnönü was the First Lady of Turkey from November 11, 1938 until May 22, 1950 during the presidency of her husband İsmet İnönü.-Early years:...
(1897–1992), wife of the second President İsmet İnönüIsmet InönüMustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... - Yakup Kadri KaraosmanoğluYakup Kadri KaraosmanogluYakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu was a Turkish novelist, journalist, diplomat, and senator.-Early life:...
(1880–1974), writer - Uğur MumcuUgur MumcuUğur Mumcu was an intrepid Turkish investigative journalist for the leading Kemalist broadsheet, Cumhuriyet. He was assassinated with a bomb placed in his car, outside his home.- Biography :...
(1942–1993), assassinated journalist - Mammed Amin RasulzadeMammed Amin RasulzadeMammad Amin Rasulzade was an Azerbaijani statesman, scholar, public figure and one of the founding political leaders of Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan...
, founding father of Azerbaijan Democratic RepublicAzerbaijan Democratic RepublicThe Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in... - Abdülhalik Renda (1881-1957), politician
- Baykal Saran (1937–2006), actor
- Cahit Sıtkı TarancıCahit Sitki TaranciCahit Sıtkı Tarancı Turkish poet and author.-Biography:Tarancı belonged to a well known clan family of Diyarbekir like his father Pirinççizâde Bekir Sıdkı and his uncle Pirinççizâde Aziz Feyzi. Tarancı finished his secondary education in St...
(1910–1956), poet - Mustafa Rüştü Taşar (1951–2007), politician and former government minister
- Bahriye ÜçokBahriye ÜçokBahriye Üçok was a female Turkish academic of theology, left-wing politician, writer, columnist and women's rights activist, whose assassination in 1990, remains unresolved.-Biography:...
(1919–1990), assassinated journalist - Savaş Yurttaş (1944–2002), actor
- Hasan Âli YücelHasan Âli YücelHasan Âli Yücel was the former minister of education of Turkey, who served from December 1938 to August 1946. He is well known for his reforms in the education system, and the foundation of Village Institutes...
(1897–1961), poet, politician and former government minister