Belkahve Ataturk Memorial House Fountain

Introduction

The Belkahve Ata Memorial House Fountain stands at the point from which Mustafa Kemal Atatürk first looked out over İzmir on the morning of 9 September 1922.

To commemorate this historic moment, a memorial fountain was built between 1926 and 1928 by Kazım Dirik, then Governor of İzmir.

Constructed in the early years of the Republic, the structure carries great symbolic value both as a symbol of Liberation and as one of the memorial sites of modern Turkey.

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History

• 1926–1928: Built by Kazım Dirik to immortalise Atatürk's first gaze upon İzmir.
• 1940s: The original fountain was probably demolished during road-widening works; the present fountain was rebuilt on its current site.
• 2017: The fountain's original inscription was found in the garden of Kavaklıdere Village Mosque, brought to the Belkahve Ata Memorial House by Bornova Municipality and placed under conservation.

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Inscription

The original inscription bears the following words in Ottoman Turkish (old Arabic script):

"The soul of the homeland, the great Ghazi.

As he drove the enemy army into the sea,

from Belkahve, where this fountain stands,

he gazed upon İzmir and the sea."

This inscription is a powerful symbol of the culture of memorial-building and the reverence for Atatürk in the early years of the Republic.

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Architectural and Aesthetic Features

• Form: Single-faced, rectangular-bodied memorial fountain.
• Materials: Stone and rendered cladding; a plain pediment on the elevation.
• Location: In the garden of the Belkahve Ata Memorial House, at a vantage point commanding views of İzmir.
• Function: Designed not merely as a water source but as a place of remembrance and visitation.

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Historical and Cultural Significance

The Belkahve Ata Memorial House Fountain is not simply a water structure; it is a tangible embodiment of:

• The moment at which the National Liberation Struggle was crowned with victory,
• Atatürk's first view of İzmir,
• and the Republic's tradition of building memorials.

With Bornova Municipality's discovery and restoration of the inscription in 2017, this emblematic structure has been restored to its rightful place in the national memory.