The Cemeteries of Martyrs were designed with respect for nature and geography. It is not the architecture itself that is of substance, but the sense of what is experienced in the historic geography of a dramatic space.
NECRO-GEOGRAPHY
Necro-geography deals with the geographical morphology of space associated with death, that allows for a cultural and social manifesto in space. It resists the inevitable erosion of time and can make memories timeless between life and death. In necro-geography, martyrs and their souls cannot be separated from space. In this sense, the Gallipoli Peninsula is a geography that offers the ground to experience the contrasts between life and death, war and peace. The geography yields a collective identity.
PLACE OF REMEMBRANCE
Cemeteries of Martyrs have been interpreted as a unique place of remembrance with its cultural and historical significance. The memorial allows the visitor to experience the past while keeping the memory alive in the present. Necro-geography expresses the immortality of experiencing the past and the present in the same location. Time loses its linearity. By accommodating more than one time and place in a single real place, cemeteries of martyrs are heterotopias that hold up a mirror to society. Commemoration of the deceased is as old as evolution and part of human nature; thus, memorials always carry spiritual values.
DISSOLVING IN GEOGRAPHY
The architectural approach serves as a guide for the dissolution of the human being in geography with minimal intervention. The concepts of walking and roaming, which are distinctly different from each other, are emphasised. Walking describes a more practical act, while roaming is related to the journey, the travel, the duration, the process itself, with the destination carrying more modest meanings. Experiencing the geography that hosts history during the journey to burial sites is considered moving, and the strategic decision not to separate the Cemeteries of Martyrs from the unique geography is significant. In the proposed project, vehicular access ends at cadastral roads, and pedestrian access begins with paths integrated with the landscape.
Gallipoli, as a geography of both war and peace, is experienced by roaming at optimum distances. Roaming, as an autonomous art form and an aesthetic and spatial tool for epistemic endeavour, has an existential value, especially in necro-geographies. Experiencing not only the Cemeteries of Martyrs but the entire geography that still preserves history is considered meaningful. The memorial space is not solidifed at a single ‘moment’; it extends throughout the process.
“… majestic tombs are not necessary, nor are elaborate decorations – these attract attention, provoke envy. Our dead have no need for these – they are content with little, dignified and silent now, they do not care for honey syrup, incense, or empty honours. The best is a simple stone and a geranium pot, a secret sign, or nothing.”
Yannis Ritsos
SYNCOPATION AND ORCHESTRATION IN SPACE
Just as rhythm is essential for spatial continuity in music, syncopation also plays a role in this context. In music, syncope refers to an irregular rhythm, while syncopation describes a temporal shift—a musical effect brought about by an unexpected change in rhythm. The same concept has been adapted to fluidity of space and the orchestration of rhythm in human walking: The visitor’s experience of what they encounter and the circulation within geography has to be composed by diversifying acts through various spatial interventions. Viewpoints become accessible through dead-end path embranchment. Suitable points along the paths, breath/syncopation spaces are added for resting/sitting purposes. In these areas, the proposed landscape creates particular atmospheres along the route. The rhythm of geography itself is taken in harmony with the linearity of layouts, thus yielding a spatial fluidity of paths.
EXPLORATION – CONCENTRATION – SENSATION
From the beginning to the end, the visit to the martyrs’ cemetery is organised to achieve exploration – concentration – sensation of the subject. The perceptibility of the cemeteries of martyrs from afar is ensured by long thin bronze rods called landmarks. The “exploration” starts with the observation of the geography from a distance. Starting points on pedestrian pathways leading to the cemeteries are transformed into natural landmarks with trees or perennial plant groups that can attract attention within existing vegetation. The geography is explored by experiencing the pathways and the martyrdom area is accessed. The visual relationship with the burial site is interrupted by travertine memorial walls upon arrival at the cemetery. As a singular element of respect, the memorial wall establishes temporary distances between the visitor and the martyrs. On each plot, the walls, which keep pace with the topography, diversify within themselves. The main principle is to create a strip of respect in the ‘focal’ area. Names of the martyrs are inscribed in lines on the flat and smooth inner surface of the wall, opposite to the burial site.
MONUMENTALITY DERIVED FROM NATURE
In the burial sites, the ‘kurgan’ which has historical and cultural value, is interpreted in the new context. Surrounded by circular or elliptical geometries made of rough rocks brought from different parts of Anatolia, the tombs take simple but extraordinary forms in their immediate geography. The cemeteries of martyrs are symbolised as part of this geography, with the rock fragments rising to the sky as if revived by nature.
BOTANICAL LANDSCAPING
Considering the intrinsic value of the geography, the botanical landscape is handled with endemic plants as much as possible. The starting points on paths that allow the geography to be experienced with linear routes and the breathers, whose form is defined by the breaks, are specialised with the atmosphere of shrub or tree groups that differ from the existing texture to stand out with their appearance and/or smell.
THE SILENCE OF LIGHT
The travel of daylight in this geography gives life to the cemeteries of martyrs. At night, the stored daylight in solar receptors flash and scatter over the cemeteries like fireflies with spotlights. Scattered lights evoke a sense of spiritual absence and reinforce the sense of silence.
HAVANTEPE MARTYRDOM
To give commanding perspectives of both burial sites on a relatively flat site, the Ribbon of Respect runs along the rocky edge of the site. Descending and ascending at different levels, the Ribbon of Respect forms a two-part Wall of Remembrance.
ARSLANTEPE MARTYRDOM
From the Respect Strip, which is placed as high as possible on the plot, the burial site is seen and integrated into the landscape in the opposite direction.
KÜÇÜKANAFARTALAR MARTYRDOM
The memorial wall and the Ribbon of Respect are located on the most rocky part of the site, overlooking the burial site. In front of it, it gives perspective to the burial site in line with the landscape, while at the back it connects with the relic.
KANLIKÖPRÜ MARTYRDOM
The burial site, located at a relatively low elevation in the geography of a valley, is given a perspective from the Wall of Remembrance, which is located at an almost equal elevation. The valley finds expression for the visitor in a position that embraces the martyrdom.
IBRİKÇE 1 AND IBRİKÇE 2 MARTYRDOM
In the plot, where there are three different burial sites close to each other, the Wall of Remembrance is located in the center. The names of the martyrs are inscribed on both sides of the wall. A Ribbon of Respect wraps around both sides of the wall, providing a one-way pedestrian connection.
ABANOS AND ISMAILOGLU STREAM MARTYRDOM
For the burial sites located on opposite sides of the two stream beds, which are close to each other, two separate Memorial Walls are positioned on the land in the middle of the stream beds. Access to the walls, which are angled and positioned parallel to the stream beds, is provided from a single respect lane, and the two martyrdoms are integrated with each other.
NAİMSIRTI MARTYRDOM
Two Walls of Remembrance are angled and positioned in the middle of the two burial sites on a relatively flat plot. The Ribbon of Respect connects these two walls and provides integrity.
SUNGUBAYIRI MARTYRDOM
At Süngübayırı Martyrdom, which is located by the roadside, the Wall of Remembrance is placed at the highest elevation of the gently sloping plot and isolated from the visitor vehicle road. The path starts from the roadside and passes by the burial site to reach the Wall of Remembrance. From the other side of the wall, a linear path following the trench road leads to Albayraksırtı Martyrdom.
ALBAYRAKSIRTI MARTYRDOM
KILIÇDERE 1 MARTYRDOM
At Kılıçdere 2 Martyrdom, which is located on the roadside, access to the Respect Strip and the Wall of Remembrance placed perpendicular to the road is provided by a pathway surrounding the burial site. The direction of the Respect Strip extends to the hillside landscape at the southeastern end of the site and establishes a connection between the visitor and the geography.
KILIÇDERE 2 MARTYRDOM
At Kılıçdere 2 Martyrdom, which is located on the roadside, access to the Respect Strip and the Wall of Remembrance placed perpendicular to the road is provided by a pathway surrounding the burial site. The direction of the Respect Strip extends to the hillside landscape at the southeastern end of the site and establishes a connection between the visitor and the geography.
KIREMİTDERE MARTYRDOM
EROGLUSIRTI MARTYRDOM
The burial area, where many martyrs were buried, is defined by two Walls of Remembrance, one long and one short. The positioning of the walls is designed to give perspective to the Kurgan, which is located at a higher level, while walking on the Respect Lane.
THE SILENCE OF LIGHT
The movements of daylight give the martyrdoms dynamism along with their geography. At night, the stored daylight is scattered into the martyrdom with point illuminations like fireflies. The scattered lights trigger sensation in the spiritual emptiness of nature, reinforcing the feeling of silence.
